Shreveport Chief Says ‘All Sworn Officers’ Will Work Some Hours On Patrol

Shreveport's substitute Police Chief Wayne Smith is putting together his plan to address violent crime in our community. He is also working on finding solutions to our manpower shortage within the department.

Chief Smith says he will expand the recruiting efforts outside the Shreveport Bossier City area. But he acknowledges it takes a special kind of person to be a police officer. He's also planning to put incentives in place to encourage more people to sign up to work in Shreveport.

We also spoke in depth with the Chief about crime fighting efforts and things he is planning to do to try to curb the rise in violent crime in Shreveport. Chief Smith says he is immediately moving forward with efforts to get more officers out on the streets. He is putting several "creative ideas in place to help bring a downturn in overall crime."

He says you will see a greater presence of police officers in our neighborhoods. He says a good portion of our resources in terms of police officers are in support roles, which is necessary in our growth and functionality. But all officers are now being challenged to help out with patrol.

Smith says he is moving forward with a plan to require all sworn officers to work at least 4-8 hours a week on patrol. This will not be overtime. The officers will have to work this into their schedule and check out a patrol car and get out on our streets.

Chief Smith says Shreveport is not a dangerous city. He says we don't have random shootings. He says the vast majority of the violence involves people who know each other and they have specific targets. The Chief also thanked the City Council for the purchase of new patrol cars which he says are badly needed.