BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge Police Chief T. J. Morse discussed the state of his department at an East Baton Rouge Parish Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday, addressing issues ranging from crime to lack of resources.

The luncheon was held at Café Américain on Jefferson Highway. 

Morse said that, contrary to popular belief, crime is down in Baton Rouge.

"We ended 2024 down compared to 2023 with an 8.5 percent reduction in violent crime and nine percent reduction in property crime," he said.

Baton Rouge has also seen a 20 to 25 percent reduction in shootings and a 22 percent reduction in overall crime in 2025 compared to this point last year, Morse said.

"And that's pretty incredible when you also compare the fact that we're over 150 officers short," he said, addressing the department's lack of resources. "We're supposed to have 696 officers, is what our allotment is, and we currently have 540."

Morse went on to answer questions from attendees about topics including gangs, homelessness and mental health. 

WBRZ streamed the luncheon on our YouTube page here: