The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, which began last summer, already has led to more than 300 drug arrests and contributed to a 60% drop in the monthly homicide rate, Mayor Kip Holden says.
Law enforcement officers involved in the program also have seized 46 handguns and assault weapons and confiscated more than $1 million worth of drugs, he says. Holden gave an update on the BRAVE initiative as part of his annual state of the city-parish address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge today.
During his speech, Holden tried to emphasize the connections between the various issues that affect the quality of life in the parish, such as blight elimination, crime prevention and economic development. Other topics Holden touched on in the address include:
• The ongoing Public Works overhaul, which officials hope will make the department more efficient.
• Efforts to clean up blighted properties and move them into productive uses.
• The Redevelopment Authority’s work to establish a mixed-use development at Smiley Heights in Mid City, with help from a $14 million state allocation.
• The agreement to buy the old Woman’s Hospital for $10 million, to convert it into a law enforcement complex.
• Efforts to promote Baton Rouge’s medical corridor.
• Holden says East Baton Rouge Parish is on the shortlist for several economic development projects, adding that he is planning a trip to Taiwan to promote foreign investment. He says the local film and digital media sectors are particularly thriving.
• Every project in the Green Light Plan road improvement program has either been completed or is being designed or built, including the long-awaited Central Thruway, which should be completed this year.
• Criticism of state budget cuts, which Holden says will lead to fewer local beds in the battered women’s shelter.
• The mayor also again pledged to cooperate with the Metro Council, and says he hopes elected officials can “move beyond parochial thinking.”
