East Baton Rouge Parish recorded 113 homicides in 2024 — an increase on the 100 recorded in 2023, at a time when homicides nationally fell around 16%. Baton Rouge police reported homicides down about 15% and shootings down 20% across 2025, which would put the parish near its lowest total in five years.
Baton Rouge Homicides by Year
| Year | Homicides (parish) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 113 | +13% |
| 2023 | 100 | −13% |
| 2022 | 115 | −23% |
| 2021 | 149 | pandemic peak |
These are East Baton Rouge Parish figures, not city-limits only — an important distinction, and a common source of confusion when comparing Baton Rouge to other cities. The counts are maintained by The Advocate, cross-checked against the Baton Rouge Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office.
Baton Rouge Ran Against the National Trend
2024 is the number worth pausing on. Homicides fell roughly 16% nationally that year according to the Real Time Crime Index, and New Orleans — 80 miles away — recorded a 36% drop. Baton Rouge rose 13%.
The parish historically averaged around 80 homicides a year. It reached roughly 150 during the pandemic period and, even after the decline since, has not returned to its own long-run baseline.
What 2025 Showed
Police Chief TJ Morse reported shootings down 20% and homicides down about 15% as 2025 closed (WAFB). The East Baton Rouge District Attorney indicated the parish would likely finish with its fewest homicides in five years.
One figure from the same reporting is worth carrying alongside the improvement: the District Attorney’s office described a backlog of roughly 200 homicide cases awaiting prosecution. Falling homicide counts and an overloaded prosecution pipeline are separate problems, and progress on one does not resolve the other.
How to Read Baton Rouge’s Numbers
- Parish, not city. Most published Baton Rouge homicide counts cover East Baton Rouge Parish. City-limits figures are lower and are not directly comparable to city-only counts elsewhere.
- Multiple agencies. BRPD, the Sheriff’s Office and the DA maintain overlapping records; totals depend on which are combined.
- Percentages without counts. Year-end announcements often give a percentage change and no absolute figure. We have published the counts where a source states them and the percentage where it does not.
- Federal data lags. The FBI Crime Data Explorer is the standard reference but runs roughly a year behind and depends on voluntary agency reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many homicides were there in Baton Rouge in 2024?
113 across East Baton Rouge Parish, up from 100 in 2023 — an increase in a year when the national trend was downward.
Is crime going down in Baton Rouge?
Homicides rose in 2024 but fell about 15% in 2025, with shootings down 20%. The parish remains above its long-run average of roughly 80 homicides a year.
What was Baton Rouge’s worst recent year?
2021, with 149 homicides in the parish — roughly double the historical average.
Sources & Further Reading
- The Advocate — Baton Rouge homicide numbers remain stubbornly high
- WAFB — BRPD sees 20% drop in shootings, 15% decrease in homicides as 2025 ends
- FBI Crime Data Explorer
Figures current to 29 August 2026.
Related: Baton Rouge neighbourhood safety · Jackson Mississippi crime statistics