Lara Nicholson, Zane Piontek, Brea Rougeau and Jada Hemsley (LSU Manship School News Service)

Year-end figures show that Louisiana cities saw the same record surge in homicides in 2021 as many cities in other states, marking a second straight year of rising murder rates. And as the killings have increased, police departments have been struggling to keep up, and the clearance rate — the percentage of cases being solved — has declined in several cities.