At a recent Lafayette City Council meeting residents from Lafayette's northside requested for something to be done about the recent uptick in violent crimes in northside neighborhoods. Lafayette City-Parish President joined “Nathan and Bernie in the Morning” for our “Lafayette Live” segment to discuss violent crime in Lafayette and what preventative steps can be taken.

"I think we’ve done an awful lot," said Durel, "and I’ll tell you the vast majority of the resources of the police department are going to the neighborhoods we’re talking about."

One anti-crime resource Lafayette police have at their disposal is the armadillo, an armored surveillance vehicle that allows police to remotely monitor an area and deters crime. Durel says the armadillo has been a vital asset in cleaning up high crime neighborhoods.

We put the armadillo in several years ago, we’ve applied for grants to get more armadillos. You can put it in areas with crime going on and the customers stop showing up. It doesn’t necessarily get people arrested, but it helps clean up the neighborhood. - Joey Durel

In addition to the armadillo, Durel says the reorganization of the police force into precincts with substations has aided in reducing crime.

To hear the full audio from the interview, click the play button below:

 

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