Violent Crime Numbers Go Down in Shreveport

Some good news on the crime fighting front in Shreveport today.

Police Chief Wayne Smith says violent crime is down 14% when compared to the same time frame from last year. The Chief says murders are down markedly. For the first quarter of last year, there were 22 murders in Shreveport. So far this year, there have been 15 murders in the city through March.

What Crimes Have Increased in 2022?

There have been 36 forcible rapes in the first quarter, compared to 25 last year.

Purse snatchings are up. 4 were reported in the first quarter compared to just one during the first quarter of 2021.

There have been 80 thefts from businesses during the first quarter of this year. We had 63 thefts from businesses last year. That's an increase of about 25%.

Auto accessory thefts are up nearly 100%. There were 109 during the first quarter of last year and between January and March of this year, there were 202 cases. Many of these likely involved the theft of catalytic converters.

Chief Smith says his officers have seized more than 200 illegal guns. Those guns will all be destroyed once they are no longer needed for legal cases.

Chief Smith says special efforts are paying off. He has required all officers from every department to work at least 4 hours a week on patrol. He has also stepped up efforts to recruit more officers. But we are still short by at least 100 officers. The City Council recently approved 13% pay raises for all city workers and the Chief has told KEEL News that is helping with the recruiting efforts. But he says it will take some time to get back up to full staffing.