EBRSO to Host Meet-and-Greet Barbeque for Central Woods Residents

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, along with the Central Woods Neighborhood Watch Group, will host a Meet-and-Greet Barbeque this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the newly-restored Kolby BREC Park located at 15500 Central Woods Dr. The event will have food and drinks, a raffle for prizes and a Bounce-N-Around inflatable for kids. Deputies from the Central substation will be on hand to talk to residents.  

In an effort to create a safer environment for residents and to work to decrease drug activity and crime, the EBRSO Community Services Division worked with Central Woods residents to form a Neighborhood Watch Group in January 2009. Since its establishment, the group has worked with the Central City Mayor, BREC, and the Sheriff’s Office in cleaning and restoring the neighborhood’s Kolby BREC Park. The area has also seen a decrease in drug activity and crime due to the proactive residents who say they are committed to make a difference in their community. The group meets every other month on the third Sunday at Kolby Park at 3:00 p.m. The next meeting will be held September 20^th.  

This event is one of many initiatives the Sheriff’s Office is implementing this summer. Earlier this month the Sheriff’s Office along with the Baton Rouge Constable’s Office carried out a warrant round-up and safety event in Central Woods, in which more than 30 law enforcement personnel went into the area, conducted criminal patrols, setup traffic safety checkpoints and went door-to-door to talk to residents. The initiative resulted in 13 arrests and the clearing of 56 outstanding warrants.

“This is not about being here today and gone tomorrow,” Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said. “This is about building a relationship with residents in order to make our community safer for everyone. Crime is a community problem, and it takes all of us working together to fix it.”

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office sponsors numerous Neighborhood Watch Programs across the parish. The program seeks to team residents up with law enforcement in order to teach residents how to be proactive in their safety and the safety of their community. In the program, deputies teach residents safety tips and attempt to address special concerns of a given neighborhood. Deputies also work to bring residents together in order to enhance communication and help them to look out for one another. For more information about the program, or to request a meeting, contact the Sheriff’s Office at 389-5086.