Walker says he’d declare ‘crime emergency’ as mayor

Metro Councilman and mayoral candidate Mike Walker has laid out a “9-step action plan to combat crime” on his website and in an email circulated today. Under his administration, Walker says, police training academies would be the No. 1 law enforcement budget priority; the number of Baton Rouge Police Department “street operations units” would be doubled from five to 10; and “larger crimes in the making”—such as prostitution, blight and animal cruelty—would be dealt with more harshly. He also promises to send “BRPD officers assigned to the mayor’s security detail back to the crime beat,” and says he’d “declare a crime emergency” and “foster a spirit of cooperation” among law-enforcement agencies. District Attorney Hillar Moore III says the last goal already is happening. “In all the years I’ve been in law enforcement, I’ve never seen all the agencies come together like they are now,” he says. Though he supports Walker’s plans, Moore says, the challenge is coming up with the money to fund things like hiring more officers and keeping open the city jail. “The bottom line for the mayor and the council, regardless of who they are, is priority: Where do you want to set your priority for the city of Baton Rouge?” Moore says. “With a $750 million budget, you would think we’d have enough money to take care of the No. 1 problem in the city, which is crime.” Walker’s statement does not put an approximate price tag on any of the action items, nor does it mention if Walker has pushed for any of the items during his years on the Metro Council. Mayor Kip Holden could not immediately be reached for comment. Check out the full details on Walker’s plan at his website here. —David Jacobs