(The Center Square) — The National Police Funding Database shows two grants ending in September that fund Department of Justice police programs in Shreveport.
According to the report, the City of Shreveport received $152,565 in grant funding in 2022 for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program. The duration of the grant was from October 2022 to September 2025.
The Project Safe Neighborhood initiative has five task forces in big Louisiana cities, including Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Lake Charles. The overall goal of the Safe Neighborhood initiative is to reduce gun and gang violence in target neighborhoods through strategic strategy.
Recent crime statistics show Shreveport sits above the national average in violent crime and property crime. However, police reports show an overall decrease in crime over the last few years. In 2023, crime statistics from the Shreveport Police Department show a 5% decrease from 2022 in overall violent crime from 1,492 to 1,423 but a 20% increase in property crime from 7,221 to 8,670. Crime data released in August 2024 showed a decrease in homicides from 2023.
In a January city council meeting, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith presented numbers for 2024. Homicides dropped from 80 to 52 from 2023 to 2024. Like in previous years, property crime remains high and concerning but continues to gradually decline.
Also ending in September 2025 is grant funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. The city requested $124,956 in grant funding in October 2021. This program provides personnel, equipment, supplies, training, and other necessary things for criminal justice to units in state and local government.
The largest grant shown on the database is for $1.22 million from July 2020 to June 2023 to the Shreveport Department of Justice Public Safety Partnerships and Community Policing Grants.
Based on the grant funding report, funding for these grants is renewed each year for a three or four-year duration, depending on the grant. The report showed 25 prime and sub grants for 2015-2025 that totaled $3.55 million just in local police funding. Information for 2026 has not been added yet.
