BATON ROUGE - Crime continues to be a concern in the Capital City, and as the summer months approach, city leaders are hoping to address issues related to crime and safety.

On Friday morning, East Baton Rouge's Mayor-President joined the city's Chief of Police in discussing "Operation Safe Summer," which is the initiative authorities are undertaking to keep citizens safe throughout the summer of 2020.

The discussion was meant to keep the public aware of the various techniques local authorities are using to reduce crime in Baton Rouge. 

Mayor Sharon Weston Broome and Chief Murphy Paul hosted the meeting on Facebook Live, via the Mayor's Facebook Page, at 10:30 a.m.

During the discussion, Police Chief Paul led the Mayor on a brief tour of the Real-Time Crime Center and showed her some of the devices and technology law enforcement are using to apprehend criminals.

He also explained how police are reducing crime by increasing their presence in certain areas.

For example, Chief Paul said much of the city's crime occurs in specific areas.

So, officers have been investigating those parts of the city so as to identify "micro-areas" within these sections to get a solid idea of where the majority of crimes occur in Baton Rouge.

After identifying these "micro-areas," police increase their presence in these locations.

This technique has proved successful in the past, and Chief Paul says police will continue to implement it as a way of curbing crime. 

Chief Paul said a total of 150 officers will participate in "Operation Safe Summer."

The Chief also encouraged members of the community to work alongside these officers by continuing to report any criminal activities they see to Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867 or by contacting the Baton Rouge Police Department.

Summer officially begins on June 20 and ends on September 22.