Homicides and burglaries are up in Lafayette, meanwhile other crimes are down.
The Lafayette Police Department released crime stats today, comparing how the city ranked over the last two years.
Last year, LPD said they received fewer calls for service and less crime was reported.
Though the department is boasting a decrease in rape, robbery, assault and theft, they acknowledge there are still some challenges.
Corporal Bridgette Dugas said one of the biggest issues the PD is facing is drugs and guns. She said 300 guns were stolen and 120 of them came from vehicle burglaries. According to crime stats, the city saw a one percent increase in burglaries.
"Secure your firearms. Make sure you take them out of your vehicle and secure them inside your residence so you can avoid them being stolen," Dugas said.
Lafayette saw 14 homicides in 2019, up 55% compared to 2018 when 9 were reported. Those numbers are still lower than when the city saw a spike in homicides in 2017 when 24 were reported.
"We want to make sure that we bring some closure to the families involved in these types of violent crimes," said Dugas. "It's our goal the moment that we get the call, we're on the ground and trying to solve it within hours."
Dugas credits community policing to the department's success, adding each homicide in 2019 is solved.
"That partnership as we like to call it between the police department and the community has definitely helped us solve crimes in 2019," Dugas said. "We want to continue to stay with boots on the ground, make sure that we're involved in the community and community policing."
So far, this year there have been three murders.
"Do we still have some work to do? Absolutely, but we will continue to focus on the crimes as they come and we will make sure we solve them, especially those involving guns," Dugas said.
KATC noticed some discrepancies between the Department of Justice Crime Stat numbers and the numbers Lafayette Police gave us between 2012 and 2018. Dugas said it could be related to deaths that were later classified as overdoses or justified. We're told we should get more clarity Tuesday after they meet with their researchers.
