BATON ROUGE - Federal officials said a concerted effort from federal, state and local law enforcement to combat violent crime has resulted in a historic decrease in violent crime, 100 arrests and the seizure of drugs, guns and cash.

"Operation Summer Heat 2.0" was focused on The Bottoms and Brookstown neighborhoods in Baton Rouge and rural areas around the parish, FBI Special Agent Jonathan Tapp said Monday.

"We used proactive patrols, controlled buys, surveillance and intelligence to break up trafficking organizations here in the capital city, and groups trying to establish themselves in those rural areas," Tapp said.

He said violent crime has decreased since 2025. He said that in 2025, murder, manslaughter and armed robbery were down 18%. In 2026, the number has decreased by 23%. He said it was the biggest year-to-year decrease since the FBI started keeping stats in the '90s.

The FBI deputized more than 100 local and state law enforcement officers, granting them federal arrest powers not confined to typical jurisdictional boundaries.

Tapp said that alongside collaboration with 15 law enforcement agencies, the operation has been working with local district attorneys, Attorney General Liz Murrill and U.S. Attorney Kurt Wall to "slam the revolving door shut."

"Incarcerating a dangerous criminal for one night or even a few hours is 100% ineffective at maintaining public safety. However, putting them in prison for years is a different story," he said.

It's the second summer of the collaboration. Joshua Jackson, ATF New Orleans, said the idea started in May 2025.

"Governor Jeff Landry, AG Murrill, our district attorney and a lot of other executive partnerships - we all huddled behind closed doors and we knew that we needed to exercise different strategies, different techniques, bring this all together so we could have an overlapping effect on all the crime problems that are happening in Louisiana, but particularly here in Baton Rouge," Jackson said.

Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said that although the summer is over, BRPD officers will continue to work on federal task forces and collaborate with other law enforcement agencies.