SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -
Total crime in Shreveport edged up slightly last year, according to 2012 crime statistics released by the Shreveport Police Department Wednesday at a meeting at Government Plaza.
Breaking down a crime stats for the city, Mayor Cedric Glover and police officials reported a 2 percent increase for 2012, driven upward in large part because of an increase in shoplifting.
Earlier this month authorities reported 20 total homicides in the city last year, the same figure as in 2011. The figure represents a rate of 9.9 homicides per every 100,000 people.
Glover says that even with a slight increase, the city's crime numbers are still low when compared with previous years. He says that's because the city has more police on the streets.
"We are able now to maintain a patrol presence and keep other divisions of the department adequately staffed and at the same time being able to go out and concentrate our resources in a place that may represent a problem or challenge in that particular time," Glover says.
So far in 2013, the city has had a total of four homicides.
Glover says he is concerned about the killings and that he will not be satisfied until there is a year with zero homicides in Shreveport.
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SPD Police Chief Willie Shaw, center, is joined by Mayor Glover (at Shaw's right) and other city officials.
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