BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Parish has been selected as one of only four jurisdictions nationwide for a new U.S. Department of Justice public-safety initiative that will direct nearly $300 million collectively toward local efforts to reduce violent crime, strengthen law enforcement and expand related services.
The Justice Department announced the selections October 30. East Baton Rouge joins Jacksonville, Florida; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri, in the Model Cities Initiative. The department has not publicly announced the final dollar amount assigned to East Baton Rouge, so the nearly $300 million figure should not be interpreted as the parish’s individual award.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy highlighted the selection Monday, calling it a major investment in Baton Rouge law enforcement. Sen. Bill Cassidy also backed the parish’s application. Earlier local reporting showed East Baton Rouge had sought as much as $125 million, but that application figure is not a confirmed award.
The initiative is designed around locally developed public-safety plans rather than a single federal program imposed on all four jurisdictions. DOJ says it will work with East Baton Rouge and the other recipients to finalize and implement those plans.
Eligible uses include hiring and retaining sworn and non-sworn law-enforcement personnel, strengthening prosecution and violent-crime investigations, and purchasing technology and equipment. DOJ specifically lists real-time crime centers, forensic and DNA tools, body-worn cameras, license-plate readers, ballistic-identification systems and information-technology upgrades among potential investments.
The program can also support law-enforcement training, public-safety facilities, mental-health and substance-use services, reentry and recidivism-reduction programs, assistance for crime victims and youth-violence prevention.
That breadth makes the award potentially significant beyond the Baton Rouge Police Department alone. The federal initiative is built around cooperation among law enforcement, prosecutors, local government and community partners, meaning the final East Baton Rouge plan could touch several parts of the parish’s criminal-justice system.
The Justice Department launched the Model Cities competition in June and initially said it expected to select two to four jurisdictions serving populations of at least 100,000. East Baton Rouge ultimately made the maximum-sized group of four.
Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to visit the selected jurisdictions in November to present the awards and meet with local law-enforcement officials, elected leaders and community partners.
The next important number for Louisiana will be the parish’s actual allocation. Until DOJ publishes the final award amount and approved spending plan, reports should distinguish the national program’s nearly $300 million total from the amount ultimately committed to East Baton Rouge.
For now, the selection puts Louisiana’s largest parish among a small group receiving a major new federal public-safety investment — with the details of exactly how much money arrives and where it will be spent still to be finalized.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice — Model Cities selections, Oct. 30, 2026
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy — East Baton Rouge selection, Oct. 30, 2026
U.S. Department of Justice — Model Cities Initiative overview
