The University’s sociology department is working toward reducing crime through the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination project.
Almost half of gun assaults, 30 percent of murders and a fourth of Baton Rouge’s police calls occur in a small area which holds nearly 14 percent of the city’s population — the targeted area where the BRAVE is taking a                                      stand.
BRAVE involves Baton Rouge law enforcement services and various faith-based centers, and it aims to affect the community perspective on violence. The project utilizes data analysis tools from the University to be more proactive and less reactive for efficiency in their efforts.
“BRAVE specifically targets the younger youth and actually stops them before they get too deep into crime,” said Jada Thomas-Smith, research associate from the University Office of Social Service Research and  Development. “It gives an opportunity to turn your life around before it’s too late.”
BRAVE began with a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention. It later received $150,000 in city-parish funding to strategize violent crime research and reduce juvenile offenders in the 70805                                                   area. 
“Dr. Cecile Guin actually wrote the grant with the support of the sheriff, the chief, the mayor, the DA, and so LSU was wrote in as a research partner and she was able to write in different disciplines that would be effective in the data collection,” Thomas-Smith said.
The data team is composed of University professors and graduate students who receive 20,000 to 30,000 police records from the East Baton Rouge law enforcement offices to go through every two weeks.
“When the data collection comes in, it’s from the sociology department and the anthropology and geography departments, school of human education and workforce development. It’s a multi disciplinary effort across campus,” Thomas-Smith said. 
BRAVE brings the violent or drug-trade suspects to non-hostile meetings. After explaining the severe consequences the suspects will face if their lifestyles do not change, BRAVE  suggests they drop the addictions and violence in favor of rehabilitation and employment opportunities 
Thomas-Smith said the efforts aimed at juvenile offenders are working. Murder rates have decreased by 20 percent since 2012 in BRAVE’s influenced areas. 
“Pretty soon we’re going to be launching BRAVE in 70802, an adjacent zip code, but the hopes are that BRAVE will reach beyond those two zip codes in due time,” Thomas -Smith said.