National Guard Debate: Does Shreveport Still Need Help If Crime Is Down?

Shreveport is used to seeing its name pop up on less-than-flattering national lists. Whether it's WalletHub calling us one of the fattest cities, the poorest, or one of the worst places to start a career, the rankings often feel like a punch to the gut.

However, the latest comprehensive ranking from the financial website, which evaluated 182 cities from safest to least safe, brought a surprising piece of good news: Shreveport's scores were high enough to keep it out of the critical bottom tier. This means the city successfully avoided being branded as one of the nation's most dangerous cities.

This omission raises a powerful question: Is the intensive work being put in by the Shreveport Police Department and community leaders finally paying off?

The WalletHub study didn't just look at simple crime statistics; it took a comprehensive approach to safety, evaluating 182 major cities using 41 detailed metrics.

How WalletHub Ranks City Safety: 41 Metrics Explained

These metrics spanned three critical dimensions: home and community safety (which includes crime rates), natural disaster risk, and financial safety (considering job security and economic stability). Cities that scored poorly often suffered from high rates of violent crime, traffic fatalities, and underlying economic instability.

While Shreveport was nowhere to be found on the list, two of our Louisiana neighbors unfortunately took the bottom spots. New Orleans ranked last at a dismal No. 182, and Baton Rouge was close behind at No. 180. For Shreveport to avoid this low-ranking fate is a major boost of confidence and, arguably, a vindication for local efforts to improve public safety.

The National Guard Debate: Is Military Aid Needed in Shreveport?

This positive data point arrives at a crucial time, coinciding with an active debate over whether Louisiana’s Governor should deploy the National Guard to assist local law enforcement.

READ MORE: Louisiana Governor Wants National Guard in Shreveport

Some Shreveport residents are eager to see the Guard step in, believing the situation warrants immediate, heightened intervention to protect the community. Conversely, others argue that this would be a clear overreach. They point to the city’s recent declining crime rate and its absence from this list of dangerous cities as proof that the current strategies are working effectively and that external military assistance is simply not necessary.

Vindicating the SPD: Evidence of Progress in Shreveport?

Is this new ranking a great sign for Shreveport? Are we finally getting out of our own way and becoming the exemplary, safer city we’ve always dreamed it could be?