A crowded beat

A crowded beat

East Baton Rouge Parish is patrolled by 11 different law enforcement agencies.

Why it matters: Between five incorporated cities, three university campuses and a scattering of special-purpose authorities, EBR residents can cross a jurisdictional line just walking down the street—each one policed by a different badge.

By the numbers:

• BRPD, EBRSO, Zachary PD, Baker PD and Louisiana State Police Troop A cover the parish's general geography.
• LSU PD, Southern PD and Baton Rouge Community College PD each operate independent forces on their respective campuses.
• Round it out with the Baton Rouge Metro Airport Police, the Baton Rouge City Constable's Office, and DPS Police, which guard the State Capitol Complex.

The asterisk: Two more cities—Central and St. George—have police chiefs, as state law requires, but no real patrol force behind them.

• Both lean on EBRSO to actually answer calls.
• Central pays a negotiated fee for it; St. George's founding ordinance suggests it doesn't, betting instead that the parishwide millages residents already pay cover it.
• St. George is creating a "volunteer" force to handle some administrative tasks and minor traffic accidents, but no citizen's arrests. (Sorry, Gomer.)

Common theme: The parishes home to New Orleans and Lafayette also carry double-digit police forces.

• Orleans Parish has 15, a number inflated by 8 university and college police departments. Other notables include police forces for public housing, levees, the port and City Park.
• Lafayette Parish has 9, driven mostly by 6 separate municipal departments spread across its patchwork of small cities.

The bottom line: Thirteen badges in EBR, one parish—and only 11 of them actually patrol.