BATON ROUGE — Despite a sharp decline from the all-time high in 2021, East Baton Rouge Parish has again seen an increase in total homicides year-to-year.

Across the entire parish, there were 113 homicides in 2024, up 11 from 2023. District Attorney Hillar Moore III says the increase can likely be attributed to a specific type of crime.

"One thing we do look at is domestic violence and intimate partner homicides. We did not see an increase in those, so [it's] more so street types of killings. We see the same thing over and over again. It is group, gang, drug-related homicides," Moore said Thursday.

Violent street groups, as they're called among local law enforcement, have been plaguing the parish and causing crime rates to skyrocket.

Moore says there's no easy fix.

"This is not a police problem. It's a community problem. I know police and elected officials get blamed a lot for the homicides, but this is really more an education, family, neighborhoods (problem) that we have to fix and it's going to take two decades, in my opinion, to fix this," he said.

Also notable, he said, compared to homicides within the city limits of Baton Rouge, the parish-wide numbers appear to be increasing. Baton Rouge proper saw 84 homicides this year, compared to 81 last year. 

"We have seen an increase in the parish numbers compared to the city, but we always knew as the parish grows and spreads out, that you're going to see more of that in the parish compared to the city, so I think that's likely sprawl from where we are but it is something that we need to take a look at and I know the sheriff is," he said.

Moore says one way to potentially tamp down the numbers is by devoting more resources to non-fatal shootings, which usually lead to fatal ones.

"That's what we really need to do is have a lot of focus on non-fatal shootings," he said. "Having said that, You're going to have a hard time following up on those when you're 115 officers short, 100 deputies short, the D.A.'s office is short. It's tough to follow that up and dedicate manpower to that when other things pop up as they go along."

Not only does understaffing affect catching criminals, it also is a major problem when it comes to prosecuting them.

"We're over 200 homicides that are waiting to be tried, over a number of years, so that's a significant number," the prosecutor said. "Unless and until we are able to fully staff the D.A.'s office, fully staff the [Office of the] Public Defender, and get these matters moving more quickly, that backlog will continue particularly if our homicide numbers remain high."

Moore hopes to increase resources in the D.A.'s office with a new tax he is proposing.

"Biggest idea behind the DA tax is for us to be more adequately funded and staffed and that's really the only way in my opinion that we're going to really to catch up," he said. "The hope is that if I'm able to pass the tax and have an adequate office and budget, then that frees up money that I'm getting right now from the city-parish to be able to use for the public defender to have them also fully staffed."

That tax, which would add 4 mills to property tax bills for 20 years and generate $20 million, will go before the state Bond Commission in February. If approved, it will be on the May 3 ballot.