From jails to trucks: Law enforcement makes significant strides

Full Steam Ahead: Terrebonne infrastructure pushes forward
February 22, 2017
Education trudging along, despite cuts
February 22, 2017
Full Steam Ahead: Terrebonne infrastructure pushes forward
February 22, 2017
Education trudging along, despite cuts
February 22, 2017

Two new jails – one all-purpose and the other with a special population, along with a few extras here and there, are among developments this year that local law enforcement officials say are items in the good news department, despite financial challenges due to a shaky economy and other issues they are contending with.

“This new jail allows us to increase the overall number of inmates we can house,” said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter, in reference to his personally supervised transition of the parish’s former juvenile detention center to a jail used exclusively for women.


The women’s jail’s 130 beds will free up a total of 80 beds for men at the main jail next door.

Both Larpenter and Parish President Gordon Dove said the women’s jail, which began admitting inmates last week, was placed online with a minimum of financial cost. Inmate labor made the difference, they said, helping to place the budget item at $150,000, by saving more than $200,000 in opening costs.

Progress is being made as well in Lafourche Parish, where Sheriff Craig Webre’s dream of a new jail to replace an aging and flawed facility that has long posed risks for both correctional officers and inmates is being realized.


A $42 million complex capable of holding 500 inmates is rising at La. 3185, across from Lafourche’s infamous old jail. Taxpayers agreed a to .2 percent sales tax to help pay for the facility after years of attempts by Webre to sell the community on the reasons why it is needed.

Other good news to come out of law enforcement this year is a renewed level of cooperation at the community level with law enforcement officers, something Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman says makes a huge difference in the ability of officers to prevent crime and to better investigate crimes that do occur.

Houma and surrounding communities in Terrebonne Parish have been plagued by spates of violence, much of it between loosely-organized groups of young entrepreneurs in engaged in drug traffic.


“People are getting the message and they are cooperating,” Coleman said in an interview late last year.

Larpenter said he is keeping optimistic about the coming year and is encouraged that despite economic problems there has not been a major change in the level of work his officers are doing for the public.

“Even though I am losing $1 million a year with my work release shut down and I am down on sales taxes, we are maintaining our service level and everyone is keeping their jobs,” Larpenter said. “Hopefully the rainy day will stop and the sun will shine on Terrebonne Parish as a whole. We are hoping to get back our stream of tax dollars. If the economy starts back up we can open our work release program again. Then we can put inmates back to work and get them into these re-entry programs the state is talking about, so that they can be rehabilitated.”


The full implementation of body cams in Terrebonne is something Larpenter says has made for some good results.

“The body cameras are helping out a great deal,” Larpenter said, noting that complaints against officers have hit all-time lows. He attributes that to the body cam usage.

Public response to law enforcement because of concerns about officer safety – boosted because of attacks on officers elsewhere in the state or the nation – have also helped provide an extra measure of protection.


“We have re-supplied all of our officers with new bullet-proof vests,” Larpenter said.

Good news came to a small group of law enforcement officers recently in the form of new equipment that they agreed was badly needed.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office has been recognized nationally for innovations in its adaptations for patrol cars, which have been post-designed with user-friendly features inside and what critics have referred to as a sharp appearance on the outside.


The same could not be said for vehicles operated by Sheriff Larpenter’s Water Patrol, however.

Water Patrol officers used dark blue pickups to pull their boats, which often must be rushed to areas with boat launches for immediate deployment in emergencies. The boats got bigger but pickups remained the same stock, full-size models for years.

Despite serious budget problems caused by an eroding tax base, Larpenter said he was able to replace the Water Patrol truck fleet with Ford 350 Super Duty trucks. They are the same high-visibility white as the regular patrol units, with the Sheriff’s Office logo and trim present on those units as well.


“I feel so much more confident,” Water Patrol Capt. Mike Ledet said of the new ride “I feel that if I have a situation I can get to wherever I need to get to and do whatever I need to do. It’s a taller truck to climb into but that’s good because of all our storms and water.”

Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office trucks