(The Center Square) – Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith reported a 29% decline in the city’s homicide rate in the department’s monthly crime update on Monday.
After a mass shooting during the weekend in northwest Louisiana left two dead and six injured, the department delivered updated crime data to the Shreveport City Council during the administrative conference. Overall, the report indicated a decrease in crime compared to year-to-date statistics from the same period last year.
Homicides in Shreveport are down from 41 to 29 year-to-date in 2024.
Shots-fired calls also showed a decline. The department reported 1,561 cases this year compared to 1,945 last year – a 20% reduction year-to-date. At the time of this report in 2021, the department had reported 3,596 shots-fired calls in Shreveport.
The department reports shootings as someone who has been injured by gunfire. So far, there have been 168 shootings this year compared to 218 last year.
Other statistics reported by the department include sex crimes, which are still trending up slowly each month. There have been 384 reported cases this year compared to 352 last year.
Year-to-date, there have been 914 vehicle thefts compared to 930 last year; 44 armed robberies compared to 53 last year; 996 burglaries compared to 1,224 last year; 743 vehicle burglaries compared to 780 last year; and 12 carjackings.
Periodically, the department reports stats on various other crimes, and this month, Smith reported on fatal crashes in the city. There have been 24 in Shreveport this year.
While crime is dropping, the department is also actively working on special operations. According to Smith, last week there were three felony arrests, 19 misdemeanor arrests and summons, four juveniles taken into custody, 23 firearms seized and two stolen vehicles recovered. Smith credits this work to the Block by Block initiative that actively puts officers in the field to talk with residents.
