‘We Can’t Keep Ignoring This:’ Crime is Top of Mind for Voters in Baton Rouge’s Mayoral Run-off

(BATON ROUGE, La.) — On the night of Nov. 13, Eric Taylor, age 14, was out walking around 7:50 p.m., when a car pulled up and opened fire off Plank Road in the capital city. A few days later, he died from his injuries. 

Eric’s death is one of 102 recorded homicides in East Baton Rouge Parish, one of nine parishes in Baton Rouge, where crime is on the rise.  Voters, who will decide who will be mayor of the city in a Dec 7 run-off,  say crime is top of mind as they head to the polls. 

Alex Lee, a mother and native of Baton Rouge, said, “The rise in crime makes me so worried for my son who is growing up here. It makes me want to relocate to minimize the chances of him getting involved in the crime.”

She continued, “The news is flooded with shootings and more crime every day.” Lee said she is hopeful of change after the Mayor-President election, but does not know who, as of now, she would vote for. 

Crime by the numbers

The latest data from the Baton Rouge Police Department shows homicide rates in Baton Rouge are up 6.85% compared to this time last year. 

Most recent records in 2022 show the capital city has a homicide rate of 51.8 per 100,000 residents putting it amongst the highest in the U.S. The national average reported in 2022 was 7.8 per 100,000 residents, and the homicide rate for Louisiana in its entirety was 19.9 per 100,000 residents.  

As of November 17, The Advocate  reported that 102 people have been killed this year in East Baton Rouge Parish. This includes two homicides occurring in November.

As of November, The Advocate reported 100 homicides in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2024. [Credit: The Advocate]

“You think twice before going places”

Could the rise in crime over the past year cost Broome her seat and put a Republican in the mayor’s office for the first time in 20 years? 

A recent poll conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling for the Justice Action Network showed that 40% of Louisiana residents said crime was their biggest concern, and 75% said that the criminal justice system “needed major improvement.” LJR Custom Strategies conducted a report Oct. 8 before the primary election that showed 36% of voters listed crime and public safety as top of their list of issues in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

“The surging crime rate grows more disturbing daily,” Republican mayor-president candidate and high school football coach Sid Edwards told The Click before the run-off election. “We cannot keep ignoring this and making like there’s not a problem.”

Ramide Cosey, a 15-year-old boy on Edwards’s football team, was among the 40 people killed in the beginning of this year. He was shot in a drive-by shooting on Jan. 1 along with four other teenagers and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

“You think twice before going to places,” Mason Batts, Edwards’s campaign coordinator, told The Click. “14-year-old kids aren’t being shot for being on the wrong corner. […] We’ve developed such an immunity to this. […] We have to stop normalizing this.”

Current Mayor-President Sharon Broome, running against Edwards for a third term as mayor-president of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, has also addressed crime in her campaign.  “We need our government involved. We need our faith-based community involved. We need our nonprofit organizations involved. Everybody plays a role in mitigating crime,” she said in a recent interview with WAFB reporter Liam Combs. 

The Click reached out to Broome for an additional statement on the crime in East Baton Rouge Parish, but did not receive a response.

Early voting signs in Baton Rouge [Credit: Emilee Calametti]

Is crime in Baton Rouge changing how people vote?

Campaign signs dotted the city as residents awaited their chance to vote a second time for the next mayor-president of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish. 

Broome has held her seat for two terms and seeks to secure her third and final consecutive term per  city rules. Edwards, the football coach at Istrouma High, is looking to become the first Republican mayor of Baton Rouge since 2005 when Bobby Ray Simpson completed his term, ending a Republican run that started in 1989. Before 1989, a Democrat had led the city since 1872, during Reconstruction.  

This year, Baton Rouge saw a shift in the balance of Republican and Democratic votes.  During the Nov. 5 primary election, Edwards received 34% of the vote with 64,862 votes, Broome received 31% with 58,843 votes, and Democrat Ted James, a former member of the Biden administration, received 28% of the vote with 53,510 votes.   

Edwards, the first Republican candidate running for mayor-president to receive the popular vote in the general election since 2000, has made crime a key issue in his campaign. 

At the Ronald Reagan Newsmaker luncheon hosted prior to the November election by Woody Jenkins, former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, crime was a big topic. “We have fallen on hard times,” Jenkins said. “Crime has become a gigantic issue for people … We’ve been the murder capital, one of the murder capitals, of this country. … No one is in charge of this city, and it’s been that way a long time.” 

Candidates promise change

Both run-off candidates cite crime reduction as a priority in their campaigns.

During the Nov. 19 mayor-president debate, both candidates answered questions surrounding the rise of crime in the city highlighting how their policies intend to help.

When asked, “Why is it that so many people do not feel safe in Baton Rouge?” Broome responded, “I’ll have to say that we have been moving the needle on crime. […] We recognize that crime is a socioeconomic issue. It’s very complex. So we have been working to empower  law enforcement and community programs.”

Edwards responded, “A recent poll shows that we’re ranked in major cities 182 out of 182 in safe cities. Quite honestly, I don’t think the city is overall safe right now. […] So, I agree with the mayor-president on that part, there is a socioeconomic piece to this and people need hope. […] But overall from the safety standpoint, I still maintain I don’t feel safe in Baton Rouge.”

The poll mentioned by Edwards was conducted by Wallethub on Oct. 7. It listed city rankings according to “Home & Community Safety,” using 17 different metrics, each weighted. These metrics included “Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita,” “Assaults per Capita,” “Perception of Safety (Safety walking alone during daylight/night)” and others. Baton Rouge landed in last place. 

Broome wants to implement a proactive approach to the crime in the city, according to her campaign website. Building relationships between police and the community is on her list. In her “21st Century Policing and Resource Investment measure,” she wants to bring in new officers who have access to the training and technology. She also wants to bring ‘Safe Hopeful Healthy Baton Rouge’ further by giving those at risk of crime opportunities.

Edwards’s platform focuses on crime, homelessness, economic development, and many other things for EBR. If elected, he plans to hire 100 new police officers for the parish. He says he wants  “proactive and community policing,” while also looking to increase police pay to provide tools and training officers might need. 

As residents cast their votes, the 2024 Baton Rouge mayor-president election could be a turning point in the city’s future.  Both candidates address crime as a top issue, but the upholding of these promises is to be determined.