The Boulet administration may reinstate a dedicated police force to patrol Lafayette Consolidated Government three dozen parks, KATC reports.
Mayor-President Josh Guillory disbanded the park police in 2020, as part of an effort to slash LCG’s budget and restructure the parks department. The small police detachment were among 37 parks employees that Guillory fired as the agency was reorganized into the department of Parks, Arts, Recreation and Tourism.
Funding is the main issue, City Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux told KATC, as those positions were eliminated from LCG’s manning table. A budget revision would be required to re-establish the park police as it was previously constituted. Lafayette Police Department officers are currently in charge of patrolling parks, and the agency, like many other PDs, is understaffed.
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