Inmates returned to Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex

Sheriff Tim Soignet advises that on this date (October 12) all inmates relocated due to the threat of Hurricane Delta have been returned to the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex.

“The forecasts which showed the storm headed straight for our area made it necessary for us as a matter of safety for inmates and correctional officers to utilize our emergency relocation protocol,” Sheriff Soignet said. “I wish to thank all of our correctional staff as well as the Louisiana Department of Corrections for their assistance.”

As a result of Delta’s change in track, at least one facility inmates were evacuated to suffered loss of power and related difficulties.

“Once these plans are activated, the Department of Corrections and the staff at facilities where they have chosen to assign inmates are also in charge of their care and custody,” Sheriff Soignet said. “This is part and parcel of the agreement we have with DOC which governs how these plans are carried out. We don’t choose where inmates are temporarily housed.”

The potential of power outages due to the storm in Terrebonne Parish necessitated the evacuation, Sheriff Soignet said, due to the inability of current generators to run the Criminal Justice Complex’s ventilation system, which could have created health and safety problems on a mass scale.

The Sheriff is currently in discussion with the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, which owns the jail, for arrangements to be made for a generator capable of running all necessary systems.