Lafayette's crime rate falls

Posted: Feb 3, 2012 10:50 PM by Shawn Kline
Updated: Feb 3, 2012 10:52 PM

Crime in your neighborhood may be going down. In the City of Lafayette, murder has decreased by 50-percent, rape by 57-percent.

The FBI is reporting every major crime is going down but how are police doing it?

Violent crimes in particular, down an average of 28-percent. Police attribute these numbers to various programs and catching onto changing criminal trends.

"Anytime we see a decline in any category, we know we're doing something right," Cpl. Paul Mouton said.

Every violent crime is on the decline in the City of Lafayette. Cpl. Paul Mouton of the Lafayette Police reports the rates for murder, rape, robbery and assault are all down from last year.

"The programs are working." Cpl. Mouton says, "getting things out there such as extra patrols, neighborhood watch programs and getting the community involved."

Police reported nearly 234-thousand calls for service this year. That's up 10-percent from last year and police say it's part of the reason the murder rate was cut in half.

Theresa Jolivette knows just how painful crime can be. In 2010, her son Thomas was murdered.
Police captured two men they believe are responsible for what was supposed to be a robbery, turned deadly.

"It's still fresh." Jolivette says, "it's like it just happened."

Now, her home is filled with pictures of her family but a picture of Thomas holds a special place close to her heart. She's praying others won't lose a loved one to a violent crime.

"Every time I hear somebody got caught, I praise the lord because the police are doing a pretty good job," she said.

While crime is down, arrests are up and the most alarming number on this chart- 8% of those arrested were minors.