Mood:
on fireTopic: Politics
Earlier this month, the Louisiana seatbelt law changed so that everyone in the car is required to wear their seatbelt. Fine with me. I am an avid seatbelt wearer and hardly ever carry passengers. However, nearly once a week on my morning drive to work, I get stopped by a policeman for a seatbelt check.
At first, I wasn't bothered, because I was following the law, wearing my seatbelt. But after it happened about four times, I'd had enough. My particular annoyance came on a typical morning drive, where I was stopped at the intersection of Lee and Burbank for a seatbelt check, which I passed. Then, I was stopped a second time at the intersection of Lee and Nicholson—just one road over from my first stop.
The driver in front of me was not wearing his seatbelt, so the officer proceeded to run after his vehicle. Needless to say, the person was not caught, no ticket was issued. Let me ask you, the Baton Rouge Police Department, if you cannot punish those who are not following the law, then why are you wasting time standing in the middle of the street?
My main concern is the effort taking place to ticket those who are not wearing seatbelts. Ok, so it's a safety thing and it's a $25 ticket. However, I'm curious as to why the efforts of our local police department is being put on safety belts, when we have so many other crimes going on.
According to Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers (www.crimestoppersbr.com), there are currently 40 unsolved crimes in Baton Rouge. Twenty one of those are homicides. One of them is an abduction and one is a missing person. The others are armed robberies.
In 2009, Louisiana was listed as the second most dangerous state to live in because of murder rates. On July 17, 2009, local news station WAFB reported Baton Rouge Murder Rate Skyrockets. Journalist George Sells writes, "Baton Rouge murder rate this year has risen to the point where, using FBI measurement standards, the city is way ahead of traditionally kill-prone cities like Cleveland, Newark, and even Detroit." The article listed the statistics as follows:
Murders per 100,000 people:
1. Baton Rouge (2009) 38
2. New Orleans (2008) 67
3. Detroit (2008) 34
For further information, I logged onto the Web site for the BRPD (http://brgov.com/DEPT/BRPD/news/) to find a listing of even more unsolved crimes. They are as follows:
August 24, 2009: Fatal Shooting on Interstate (one dead)
August 23, 2009: Body found on Joplin Street (died from gunshot wound to the head)
August 18, 2009: Shooting 11440 Bard
August 14, 2009: Shooting on Syble Dr. (2 people, including a pregnant woman, were killed)
August 9, 2009: Stabbing 4400 Winbourne (victim suffered stab wound to the chest, later died)
August 8, 2009: Shooting 1900 69th St. (victim found dead in front yard)
According to the citywide statistics for 2009 on the BRPD Web site, June was the worst month yet (results for July and August are not posted). In June 2009, the city cites 12 homicides, 6 rapes, 94 robberies, 161 aggravated assaults, and 366 burglaries.
Let me again state that I understand wearing a seatbelt is important and reduces your risk of being killed in a car crash by one-third, yadda yadda yadda. However, I wish more effort was put into bringing justice to the families who have lost their children because of a murder in the street, or calm the fear of a late-night worker who has been robbed at gun point. I am tempted to unbuckle my safety belt at the next checkpoint, hand you my $25 and ask the status of the 40+ unsolved crimes in our city. Or perhaps I could stop by Benny's on Perkins for a day-old donut, since that seems to be the local police hangout. How many crimes are being solved there, over coffee officers?
All I'm asking is that you follow your mission statement, which is listed on your Web site: "The mission of the Baton Rouge Police Department is to serve with the Baton Rouge community to prevent crime..."
The victims of current unsolved homicide cases in Baton Rouge are: Kevin Cado, Moctezuma Valencia, Tyrone St. Cyr, Vincent Manuel, Arthur Sharp, Clarence Gildon III, Doug Lewis, Raquel Jackson, Ivy Lynn Thomas, Marcus Tyson, Alec Causey, Andre Turner, Cesar Reyes Ramirez, Donald Thomas, Jermaine Harrison, Drexel Swayzer, Jamie Williams, Jermaine Lewis, Richard Sopsher, Ricky Ricardo Mitchell, and Sandra Hicks.
