BATON ROUGE - Dozens of police officers hit the streets in Zion City Thursday. It's an area police are no strangers to, but this visit was for a different reason.

"It's about time y'all walk down through here," a man said to police in Zion City on Thursday.

With crime increasing across Baton Rouge, police are working to put an end to the violence with more community outreach events.

"I'm glad y'all are here, you can stop the violence," Sonia Cook said.

Violent crime is something Cook knows too well. Her son Markus Cook was shot dead last year near their home.

"I hope they find my son's killer. I want them to stop the violence," Cook said.

Just a few months later, a woman was shot dead in the street by a stray bullet.

"All we hear, boom boom boom. Like it's a war zone sometimes," one man discussed with an officer.

Police hope their unneeded presence makes a difference for the community, as they organize walks across different neighborhoods that are dealing with the same stubborn crime problem.

"A quiet majority are showing concern, and they show that they want a change in their communities," said L'Jean Mckneely with the Baton Rouge Police Department.

This is the third month police have held community walks, and officials say they intend to hold more of them.