East Baton Rouge Parish has been selected as one of just four jurisdictions nationwide to receive a share of nearly $300 million in federal funding aimed at combating crime, through the U.S. Department of Justice's Model Cities Initiative. The parish will join Jacksonville, Florida; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri, in the program, though the Justice Department has not yet said how the pot of money will be divided among the four winners.
According to The Advocate, the city is one of four chosen to receive part of the $300 million in the competitive Model Cities Initiative Grants administered by the DOJ. Attorney General Todd Blanche said exact grant amounts would be announced soon, per that same report. As reported by nola.com, Baton Rouge will receive tens of millions of federal dollars to help address a shortage of police officers.
Still, the precise dollar figure headed to East Baton Rouge remains unsettled. A separate report notes that DOJ has not yet disclosed how the funding will be split among the four jurisdictions, while WAPT reported that Jackson, Mississippi, has specifically been awarded $100 million through the initiative — a figure that conflicts with the claim that allocations are still undisclosed. East Baton Rouge Parish had sought $125 million in its application, but that number reflects its request, not a confirmed award.
Why Baton Rouge Was in the Running
The Model Cities Initiative is described as a flagship effort to reduce violent crime, restore law and order, and strengthen public safety in participating communities. Federal investments under the program are meant to support locally driven comprehensive strategies to combat crime while enhancing coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.
The outlet reported that DOJ said East Baton Rouge Parish stood out for its partnerships among law enforcement, local government, and community organizations. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy reached out to parish leaders, including Mayor-President Sid Edwards and District Attorney Hillar Moore, and helped them through the application process after funding became available in June, according to The Advocate.
The parish's push for federal dollars took shape over the summer. The Metro Council approved a grant proposal to send to the Justice Department on September 1, according to WBRZ. Christopher Csonka, executive director of the parish's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, worked with more than a dozen law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and nonprofits to put the proposal together, the station reported. Csonka also said Baker, Central, Zachary, and St. George joined Baton Rouge in the initiative.
What the Money Could Fund
Eligible uses under the grant are broad. Funding priorities include hiring sworn and non-sworn law enforcement officers and other personnel, adopting new and improved technology, purchasing or leasing equipment, and enhancing forensic capabilities and capacity. Priorities also include prosecution and related public safety activities, as well as services addressing mental health and substance use issues and reducing recidivism.
As WAFB reported, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the selected cities are setting an example of proactive law enforcement to strengthen the rule of law and improve public safety in their jurisdictions. The Justice Department will work with each jurisdiction to finalize and implement its public safety plan, meaning East Baton Rouge's specific project list has not yet been locked in.
East Baton Rouge's original $125 million proposal, as detailed by WBRZ, envisioned funds going toward behavioral health programs, substance abuse services, and youth crime diversion programs, as well as law enforcement agencies and the District Attorney's Office. Whether all of those elements survive into the final, DOJ-approved plan has not been confirmed.
Local Numbers Behind the Push
The grant push comes against a backdrop of crime data that parish officials have cited in making their case. Baton Rouge Police data showed 49 homicides as of August 25, down slightly compared to the same point the previous year, per WBRZ's reporting.
Other winning jurisdictions have pointed to their own trends. Jacksonville recorded 59 murders in 2024, its lowest total since at least 1995 and less than half its count the previous year, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office as cited by wfmd.com. St. Louis recorded 150 homicides in 2024, its lowest total since 2013, with overall crime down 15% year over year, the same report noted.
How Other Winners Plan to Spend Theirs
While East Baton Rouge's specific plan remains to be finalized, Jackson's reported $100 million award offers one template for what Model Cities money might eventually fund. Jackson intends to use its grant over three years to modernize public-safety infrastructure, including replacing a deteriorated forensic facility with a new laboratory for DNA, ballistic, and trace-evidence analysis, per WAPT. The city also plans to integrate its command center, gunshot-detection arrays, and ballistics imaging into a single coordinated network, alongside competitive pay aimed at recruiting and retaining officers and behavioral-health crisis networks, victim advocacy, and reentry programs.
St. Louis, meanwhile, has proposed adding more than 300 law enforcement personnel along with modernized policing technology, according to wfmd.com's report on the Justice Department's description of that city's plan. The four winning jurisdictions, East Baton Rouge included, will now work with DOJ to finalize and implement their public safety plans — a process that will determine exactly how much money lands locally and where it ultimately gets spent.
