The information on this website is data from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system. CAD data has several potentially misleading characteristics. Calls for service are assigned an incident type in the CAD system according to the nature of the complaint. A Communications Division deputy determines the incident type based on preliminary, unsubstantiated information usually provided by telephone from a complainant. After a thorough investigation by a deputy, many incidents are classified differently in the resulting official incident record maintained by the Records Division. As a result, the user should not consider the incident type listed in CAD as the true nature of an incident.
In many cases, the Communications Division receives multiple calls for service concerning one incident. Since it is often not possible to determine if these calls for service identify the same incident, the CAD system tends to list duplicate calls for one incident. As with the nature of the incident type, the on-scene investigation by a deputy and the resulting official record will describe an incident in detail. The user should consider whether similar incidents over a short time period and in close proximity may be duplicate calls.
The CAD data is presented on this web site in geographic sector format as well as individual listing. Users that are examining sector data should consider the contents of the sector whenever comparing call volume to other sectors. For example, one sector may include a shopping mall while an adjacent sector is purely residential. As would be expected, the sector with the shopping mall may list a relatively high volume of theft complaints.
When the Communications Division receives a call for service, this information is taken on face value by Communications Division deputies for the CAD system. The subsequent investigation may reveal the information was false or the incident was, in fact, unfounded. While the official report will reflect these facts, the incident is not changed in the CAD system. As with other potential pitfalls, the user should carefully consider the CAD system data as preliminary in nature and not substantiated by an investigation.
Finally, users should consider that EBRSO primarily responds to calls for service in the unincorporated areas of East Baton Rouge Parish. While EBRSO will promptly respond to any call for service anywhere in East Baton Rouge Parish, the police department for the specific municipality usually responds within the city limits. As such, calls for service in sectors located within a municipality will not reflect all law enforcement activity for that area.
Due to privacy and relevance issues, certain information has been excluded from the CAD data listed on this web site.
If you require information not listed on this web site, or if you need data to be represented as "official public record," please contact the EBRSO Public Information Office at (225) 389-5091.