[Video] Follow-Up: Blanche Presents Model Cities Award in Baton Rouge as East Baton Rouge Amount Awaits DOJ Release
The U.S. Department of Justice on November 4 held a press conference in Baton Rouge, in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, to present a Model Cities Initiative (MCI) award to the parish. Attorney General Todd Blanche traveled to the city to present the award, as the Department announced on October 30. The press conference began at 2:30 p.m. Eastern and was streamed live in full on the Department's official YouTube channel.
As of publication, the Department has not released the specific amount East Baton Rouge Parish will receive. Neither the Department's Office of Public Affairs nor the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana has issued a press release following the press conference. The Department's October 30 announcement gave only the combined total of nearly $300 million shared by the four selected jurisdictions, with no per-jurisdiction breakdown; the specific amount remains to be announced by the Department.
On October 30, the Department selected four jurisdictions for the Model Cities Initiative: Jacksonville, Florida; East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri. The funded departments are the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, East Baton Rouge Parish, the City of Jackson, and the St. Louis Police Department.
"The Model Cities Initiative reflects the Trump Administration's commitment to reducing crime across the country and ensuring the safety of every American," Blanche said on October 30. "These cities are setting an example of proactive law enforcement that will strengthen the rule of law and improve public safety in their jurisdictions." Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. said at the time that nonfatal violent crime declined 25 percent from 2024 to 2025, and that the initiative offers an opportunity to build on that progress.
The initiative takes a whole-of-city approach, bringing together law enforcement agencies, local government officials, and community partners to develop comprehensive strategies addressing each community's public safety challenges. Funding will support hiring sworn and non-sworn law enforcement officers and other personnel supporting enforcement and prosecution, adopting new and improved technology, purchasing or leasing equipment, enhancing forensic capabilities and capacity, and providing services addressing mental health and substance use issues and reducing recidivism. The Department will work with each jurisdiction to finalize and implement its public safety plan.
The Department announced the Model Cities Initiative in June 2026, building on early successes in Memphis, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., in reducing violence, crime, and disorder. Blanche is visiting all four selected jurisdictions this month to present the awards and meet with local law enforcement officials, elected leaders, and community partners; Baton Rouge is one of the stops.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部罗伯特·肯尼迪大楼（华盛顿）。APK 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington. Photo by APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-30Justice Department Announces Nearly $300 Million in Awards to Four Model Cities to Combat Violent Crime
- 2026-11-04[Video] Follow-Up: Blanche Presents Model Cities Award in Baton Rouge as East Baton Rouge Amount Awaits DOJ ReleaseThis story
