A Calcasieu Parish program connects young offenders to services that can help them and their families get back on track. State officials are developing something similar for Lafayette.
The CJCC’s rebirth is coming at a crucial time, as Lafayette grapples with an all-time high murder rate, an overcrowded jail that has police officers and arrestees sitting for hours as they await booking in the parish jail, and new state laws likely to put more pressure on a financially strapped court system.
Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, filed legislation this week to allow lawmakers to withdraw up to $400 million from Louisiana’s Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund before July 1, 2025. Juvenile justice campuses would be prioritized if they tap into the money, said House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, and state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro.
Source: LA Illuminator
Lack of jail space was by far identified as having the biggest influence on crime rates in the last five years, with 98%, 230 of those surveyed, saying it had a large influence and only 11 saying it had moderate to no influence.
Source: The Advocate
A long-shot bid to use private funds for a new jail is effectively dead, as a new M-P finds fault with her predecessor’s plan to pay for the deal.
Should he keep his job, State Public Defender Rémy Starns suggested he might cut the pay of some of the lawyers who oversee Louisiana’s 37 local public defender districts. Those offices handle cases for approximately 145,000 people, or 88% of all criminal defendants in the state.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator
Gov. Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency that allows sheriffs to immediately hire more deputies and staff and dole out pay raises, in a bid to highlight what the Sheriffs Association calls a deputy shortage across the state.
Source: The Advocate
The items include expanding methods for administering the death penalty and harsher penalties for carjacking. The governor is also seeking stricter treatment of juvenile offenders and tighter provisions for granting parole.
He is also proposing placement of the state’s indigent defender system under the governor’s office.
Source: LA Illuminator
Lafayette Police Department investigated a total of 29 homicides in 2023, according to police information officer Robin Green. This was a record number compared to 22 homicides in 2022 and 25 homicides in 2021.
Source: The Advertiser
A federal judge dismissed all claims in a civil lawsuit filed by the family of a 31-year-old Black man shot and killed by Lafayette officers in 2020 that sparked months of community outrage and protests.
Local law enforcement agencies say they’re ill-equipped to handle mental health calls. So they’re trying a new approach.
Leonard Franques was charged Wednesday in a bill of information, which usually indicates a defendant has signed a plea deal and intends to cooperate. No date has been set for a first appearance.
Source: The Advocate
Get it first. Sign up for our free newsletters. Learn more »