Crime is a community issue – Up Front

The recent shootings of two teenage boys at the Mall of Louisiana and a 15 year-old girl sitting at her computer in her own home remind us that more has to be done to combat crime in the 225 area. When I first heard the news about the shooting at the mall, I was stunned to discover that I knew one of the boys and his family and how the boys were just waiting around for their parents to pick them up from the mall. After visiting one of the boys at the hospital, I learned that if the bullet had hit him just an inch more to the left, the young man would not be alive today.

Then a couple of days later, I read about the young girl who was sitting at home working on her computer and was shot in the chest by a stray bullet fired by one of two men fighting outside of her house. It infuriated me, as I am sure it angered many in our city.

The fact is, regardless of where you live, the color of your skin or your age, gun-related crimes are increasing and most involve young men. Violent crimes in Baton Rouge are no longer occurring in a certain zip code, nor do they just involve people engaged in drug trafficking and gangs. Innocent bystanders are becoming victims too often and everyone has to do more to combat this problem.

Back in 2010 we published a cover story on Baton Rouge’s crime rate. In that issue we analyzed crime statistics from similar Southern cities to determine whether Baton Rouge was part of a trend or bucking it. What we discovered was that our city’s murder rate spiked at a time when other jurisdictions were reducing crime. For years most of us have heard politicians pontificating into cameras, callers to radio talk shows babbling on about senseless crimes and what to do about it. But enough talk. We need more action. We need fewer reactions and more solutions.

Addressing crime and protecting the community should be the top priority for the police chief, mayor, sheriff and council. But addressing violent crime in Baton Rouge is not a simple task reserved just for our elected officials. It is the responsibility of parents, teachers, media and everyone else.

Community responsibility for crime is not a new concept. We all know education is key, but when you have teenage boys carrying guns in their waistbands with no sense of responsibility and young men who believe they have to protect their turf from others similarly armed, how do we aggressively attack this issue?

With a goal of bringing solutions to the crime problem in our city, we would love to hear your ideas. Email your suggestions to us so that we can share them with our law enforcement officers, elected officials and the community. Email me at [email protected]. We plan to follow up and share your comments with readers in upcoming issues of 225 magazine.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it will take a community to save one in Baton Rouge. For more perspective on the crime issue in Baton Rouge, read our editorial in this issue.

Banding Together

Here in South Louisiana, there are two things that bring us together more than anything: food and music. This month’s cover story on Kids’ Orchestra reveals how founder Nanette Noland and her staff of devoted organizers and music teachers have created an innovative new after school program with the goal of impacting future generations of Baton Rouge. Using music mentorship to instill discipline, social skills and teamwork, Kids’ Orchestra reaches a diverse collection of students from Capitol Elementary, Melrose Elementary, Lanier Elementary and LSU Lab School. With plans to expand its program to more private and public institutions this year and beyond, Kids’ Orchestra aims to create a supportive environment and an incentive for Baton Rouge area children and parents from a wide range of backgrounds to interact constructively and creatively like never before. It is this type of outside the box thinking that will lead to new opportunities for our city to improve.

Live Feed

They fed NYPD officers at Ground Zero after 9/11. They’ve fed victims of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. This month, 225 went inside the team behind Servolution, Healing Place Church’s disaster-ready food service outreach that mobilizes whenever and wherever people are in need. When not traveling to aid victims of natural disasters, Servolution works out of the Baton Rouge Dream Center in north Baton Rouge, offering food and counsel to the homeless and needy in our own community. Since pastor Dino Rizzo and his team launched Servolution more than a decade ago, he has written a book about some of the lives that have been positively affected by the outreach. Now, more than 500 churches in multiple countries are following this model for feeding the hungry. For Baton Rouge, it is another example of local people making a global impact.