Baton Rouge Catch a Casing Initiative

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana (USAO) has selected the Baton Rouge Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Foundation (Foundation) to be the fiscal agent for the jurisdiction’s FY2021 Project Safe Neighborhood grant proposal. Envisage Research and Analytics will serve as the research partner, and to-be-determined community organizations will provide outreach and education for the project. Together, these partners will deploy Operation Catch-A-Casing.

Operation Catch-A-Casing is a public-private partnership to combat firearm related crime in Baton Rouge. The initiative is modeled after a project originating in Wichita, Kansas called Operation Save-A-Casing. Participation includes having residents save two spent shell casings from each of their weapons. If a weapon is stolen, community members may then offer the spent casings to law enforcement for analysis. Once submitted, officers will process the shell casings through NIBIN to increase the chances of recovering the weapon and decrease the chance it being used in a crime.

In theory, Operation Catch-A-Casing is a simple process; however, the initiative will only be successful if community members participate. The proposed project will support media and marketing for Operation Catch-A-Casing, including, but not limited to, electronic billboards and airtime on local radio stations. Community organization will enhance the initiative by educating community members about firearm safety and responsible gun ownership. Contracted agencies will also be provided up to 100 gun safes to give away at community events.