Louisiana wants feds to send 1,000 National Guard troops to fight urban crime

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry asked the federal government to activate 1,000 National Guardsmen to help fight crime in his state’s three largest cities.

Mr. Landry, a Republican, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting the Guard deployment to New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport to compensate for the police officer shortages in those urban areas. 

“These manpower shortages limit their ability to effectively address this public safety threat and consequently, incidents of homicide, carjacking, and gang-related violence, significantly exceed the national average,” Mr. Landry wrote Tuesday in the letter.

The governor wants the troops to be stationed in those cities until Louisiana’s fiscal year ends next July. 

Mr. Landry said he hopes the deployment mirrors the success of National Guard missions in the District of Columbia, which saw more than 2,000 officers arrive in the city amid President Trump’s crime emergency, and Memphis, Tennessee, which is having the troops assist in a crackdown on violence.

“Since taking office, we have made real progress in driving down crime across Louisiana — but the job is far from finished. Federal partnerships in our toughest cities have worked, and now, with the support of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, we are taking the next step by bringing in the National Guard,” the governor said in a statement. 

“This mission is about saving lives and protecting families. To the criminals terrorizing our communities: your time is up. Law and order are back in Louisiana,” he went on. 

This past weekend, Mr. Hegseth ordered 200 National Guard troops to go into Portland to address lawlessness in the Oregon city.  The Trump administration aims to send an additional 100 guardsmen to Chicago.

Police data shows crime is trending in the right direction in New Orleans. Every category of violent crime — from killings to assaults and rape — were down year over year through August.

Baton Rouge officials report homicides and burglaries are down this year, with an increase in assaults and robberies.

Killings, shootings, robberies and carjackings have fallen year over year in Shreveport, officials said last month. Still, there has been an uptick in sex crimes and car thefts.