Seventy-five people were murdered in Baton Rouge last year, which is the highest number on record, according to the FBI and Baton Rouge Police Department statistics.”That is still a preliminary and unofficial number that could possibly change, but right now we feel pretty confident that 75 will be the final figure,” Don Kelly, BRPD spokesperson, said in a press release.The number increased 12 percent from 2008, which had 67 murders, according to police statistics. Matthew Lee, University criminology professor, said the increase is not a surprise.Lee said when the country has an economic downturn, people who are most weakly tied to the labor market are harmed most quickly and will look to other means of attaining income.”People still need to make money so they get involved in drug markets,” Lee said.Lee said the drug market is highly lucrative, but because it operates outside the law, the people involved resolve their conflicts through their own means, often including weapons. “The problem is there is a substantial availability of firearms and they find their way into the hands of people who aren’t in possession of them legally,” Lee said.Lee said crime has an age curve and most arrests for murder are people ages 21 to 22. He said as people get older, they become less likely to commit those types of crimes.”As people get older, they develop more impulse control,” Lee said. “They also develop stronger social bonds and matriculate into the formalized labor market.”
Lee said murder reports are misleading when population size and growth are not taken into consideration.”The population has grown in Baton Rouge in the past ten years,” he said. “It’s not really clear whether there’s been a proportional increase in murders or not.”Cpl. L’Jean McKneely of BRPD said the district attorney’s office is implementing new programs for 2010 in effort to get people off the streets, target the drug market and provide people with better options. For example, new truancy programs will help reinforce that youth are attending school regularly, he said. “Hopefully we can go in there and make an impact,” McKneely said. “All we can do is try.” –Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]