Find a social issue, pump money into ads distorting facts about the issue, give your solution, scare voters — this is the political cake-mix recipe to unseat an incumbent.
During the recent mayoral debate, Republican hopeful Mike Walker criticized Mayor-President Kip Holden’s response to increased crime in Baton Rouge, labeling the issue a “crime emergency.”
Walker called for additional police units and attacked Holden in a recent ad dubbed “limoing Louie.”
Is the city in need of a crime fighting superhero? I don’t think so.
The crime rate is the ratio of crimes in an area to the population, expressed per 1,000 inhabitants per year. Neighborhoodscouts.com, a real estate and neighborhood grading website, gave Baton Rouge a 67 per 1,000 crime rating. This number includes data from violent crimes, including robbery, aggravated assaults and rape. More alarming is the city’s murder rate.
According to a 2011 WAFB report, the city is ranked seventh in the nation with 30 people per 100,000 murdered. New Orleans was ranked first with 49 per 100,000.
Some attribute this spike in violence to the effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which displaced many residents from New Orleans —including sending criminals to Baton Rouge. The city’s crime has increased dramatically since Katrina, and the University has felt its effect.
In 2007, two international students were murdered in their apartment off campus. Earlier this year, 22-year-old Gunnar Williamson was robbed, beaten and found unconscious in Tigerland. He later died from his injuries.
“It definitely scares me,” said mass communication junior Desiree Maduro about the crime increase in the city.
Maduro mentioned both the campus lighting and police presence could be better at night and said she only feels safe when walking with companions.
Though the numbers are high, there are a few factors to take into consideration when reading into crime statistics.
It is common for crime to be highly concentrated in certain parts of a city where the inhabitants are as economically disadvantaged. Sadly, in Baton Rouge many of these areas are black communities where poverty and unemployment is high. Statistics show a majority of homicides in Baton Rouge occur in the 70805 area code, or North Baton Rouge, consisting of areas between Airline Highway and the Mississippi River levee.
Crime statistics do not differentiate between areas of low crime and high crime. Areas of low crime receive the same number as areas of high. Crime, however, is contagious, and it often spreads to safer communities.
A resident in an affluent neighborhood watching the nightly news might react to crime reports by heading to the local gun store to purchase a firearm for protection. As witnessed in the Treyvon Martin case, guns and fear should not mix.
Walker’s solution to increase the size of the police force is great if you want Baton Rouge to be in similar situation as the military occupation of Afghanistan. Though beneficial to the police department, it is not sufficient to address the problem of crime in Baton Rouge.
Cooperation between the police and residents is crucial. By using neighborhood policing methods, police should build relationships with the residents they protect. However, this strategy is easier said than done.
There is a cultural stigma in the African American community against cooperating with police. Some would rather see street justice occur than relay important crime-solving information to police. Hence the phrase “Snitches get stitches.”
The city also needs to address the problem of blighted property, which is known to attract crime.
Holden has worked to battle the problem with the BRAVE program which targets crime hotspots around Baton Rouge, but more can be done.
Thanks to Mike Walker, local voters will certainly have the issue of crime in mind as they head to the polls this election season. Unfortunately, many will fall victim to his scare tactic and vote for him.
