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The Houma Police Department has received the green light to open its first ever substation at the Senator Circle public housing neighborhood with the intention of offering a greater visible presence and faster response time to the east side of town.
Approved by the Terrebonne Parish Council Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee last Monday, the parish council will likely ratify the measure at next Wednesday’s regular meeting.
For several months, the Houma Police Department and Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority have worked through logistics to establish the Eastside Substation.
The police chief said the new Eastside Substation will offer space for command staff, meeting rooms for briefings, completing reports and interviews.
The Housing Authority provided the police department with a remodeled duplex at the entrance to Senator Circle, which is being transformed into office space. The only cost incurred will be an increase to liability insurance.
“This is a team effort that the council is very supportive of,” District 1 Councilman John Navy said. With the substation located within his district, Navy noted that the constant police presence will benefit all residents east of the Intracoastal Waterway. “It is a great opportunity,” he said.
Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee Chairman and Councilman Greg Hood, a retired lieutenant from the Houma Police Department, said this substation project was “a long time coming.”
Duplantis said the Eastside Substation would be staffed with three to six officers that have regularly been assigned to the east side of Houma to maintain continuity. “This will definitely help our response time, especially with the tunnel being closed overnight for repairs,” he said. “Those officers will have all the resources they need right there. It is a win-win situation. We are excited about it.”
The police chief said the Eastside Substation could be fully operational within a month.
A newly renovated duplex at the entrance of Senator Circle is home to a new substation for the Houma Police Department. Law enforcement, parish council members and the Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority agree that this location will not only benefit the immediate neighborhood, but will help with response time for the entire east side of Houma.
