After his city experienced its deadliest year in 2022. According to NOLA.com, the city of approximately 11,000 people had nine homicides, many of which involved teenagers.
Now, the city's new mayor, Tyrin Truong, is seeking short- and long-term solutions.
Truong, who took office on January 1, penned a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards last week. In it, he said Bogalusa is in "critical need" of state and federal resources to combat violent crime and asked for help from Louisiana State Police and the National Guard in that effort.
Truong told WWL's Tommy Tucker that it's an idea that had been previously proposed by the governor.
"The governor, based on my understanding, had reached out to our city multiple times under the past administration," Truong said. "He always fell on deaf ears. 'Oh, no. I got this. This is my town.' I'm taking the opposite approach. We need as much help as we can get in Bogalusa, and I welcome his help, and I hope that he can provide Louisiana State Police or the National Guard in the short term until we can figure out how to get this fever down."
While Truong believes his city must be tougher on crime, he also believes the city must dedicate resources to community programs and social services to keep his city's youth away from violence and crime. He believes the addage: "It takes a village to raise a child."
"If these kids aren't getting what they need from their house, then we have to be their family, making schools safer (and) pouring more resources into after-care and before-care programs."
Truong says he's an advocate for community policing and would like to resurrect neighborhood watch programs as a way to help law enforcement in their efforts to reduce crime. He also urged police and prosecutors to work together to ensure all criminals are held accountable.
"You have the police saying, 'Well, the D. A. won't prosecute,'" Truong said. "You have the police saying, 'Well, I can't get the community to talk, so we don't have enough evidence to bring to the D. A. So, it's all a cycle. How do we get to the bottom of what the problem really is?"
Truong also called on his fellow elected leaders to stop playing politics with violent crime and find some middle ground to find a solution.
"Both sides are sitting here digging in," Truong said. "We have to compromise because kids are literally dying in the streets."
