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AG Todd Blanche, Louisiana officials announce $63M federal crime initiative for East Baton Rouge
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BATON ROUGE — Federal and state officials gathered Wednesday at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol to announce that East Baton Rouge Parish has been selected to receive nearly $64 million under the Department of Justice's Model Cities initiative to combat violent crime.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche joined Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards and Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. to outline the three-year federal investment.
“The DOJ is investing nearly $64 million through the Model Cities initiative to help the people of EBR parish reduce violent crime while also making this great city safer and stronger,” Blanche said.
The grant is part of an approximately $300 million DOJ initiative created in June. East Baton Rouge was one of four municipalities chosen nationwide from a pool of 47 applicant cities, 21 semifinalists and 11 interviewed candidates.
Blanche cited steep crime figures from recent years, noting that between 2021 and 2025, local aggravated assaults surged by 320% and Baton Rouge's homicide rate over the past three decades has averaged roughly three times that of large U.S. cities.
“From 2021-2025, Baton Rouge police responded to over 1,300 non-fatal shootings, over 12,000 shots fired calls, and over 1,200 armed robberies,” Blanche said. “Here in Baton Rouge, we saw a parish and a city that is confronting a severe and persistent violent crime problem, and it demands sustained investment of law enforcement.”
The initiative will fund expanded patrol and investigative capacity, personnel for specialized prosecution units, upgrades to violent crime task forces and real-time surveillance technology.
“In other words, more law enforcement officers will be on the beat in Baton Rouge, and they'll be working with better equipment, better tech and better info,” Blanche said. “We are committing resources to help BR stop violent crime across the city, especially in the 10 hot spots where 46% of violent and drug-related crime occurs.”
Blanche described the grant as part of broader federal priorities.
“This program is just one of many steps the Trump administration has taken to support our law enforcement officers and restore the rule of law in America's neighborhoods, cities and towns,” Blanche said.
Specific allocations will be ironed out before deployment begins in early 2027.
“I'm not prepared to talk about the actual specifics of how that's happening. There's a process in place over the next couple weeks and months to figure out exactly where the money goes. It's not just our process, it's not just the DOJ's process; it's also working with law enforcement, the mayor, to see where it needs to go and when,” Blanche said.
Landry highlighted the racial disparity among gun violence victims in the parish over the past decade, noting that 90% of the casualties were Black residents.
“Over the last 10 years in EBR parish, over 1,100 lives have been lost to gun violence. These were neighbors, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and grandchildren… only 10% of those victims were white. That means that over 900 of those victims came inside the Black community here in East Baton Rouge Parish,” Landry said.
Landry praised Baton Rouge leaders for "putting politics aside" to secure the funds while criticizing jurisdictions that did not apply, accusing cities like New Orleans of "playing politics with safety."
“As governor, we passed reforms that reversed the policies of the criminal justice experiment back in 2016… This city was listed as one of the most violent cities in America, but because of what the AG is announcing today, it no longer is one of these violent cities; it's going to be one of the safest cities in America,” Landry said.
Murrill pointed to the toll on local youth, stating, “We are losing children in our community to gang violence that they aren’t even a part of, so we have a lot of work to do in this community.”
Local leaders called the grant a transformative milestone that balances suppression with intervention.
“Certainly this is one of the most historic and significant public safety investments in Baton Rouge’s history,” Edwards said. “This is a plan of BR, by BR, and for BR. This plan targets repeat offenders through increases and law enforcement personnel, technology and prosecution. It also includes intervention and prevention strategies along with community outreach.”
Officials will spend the next two months completing operational strategies before rolling out programs early next year.
“Operational planning starts today, ready for implementation in early January… Government grants are often seen as giveaways; this is not a giveaway, it is an investment,” Edwards said.
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