The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office is the sheriff's department in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. The department, headed by Sheriff Mark T. Garber, consists of around 750 sworn and non-sworn employees. Although the LPSO's jurisdiction consists of the entire parish of Lafayette, in order to not duplicate services provided by local city police, the primary patrol area is the unincorporated areas of the parish. The LPSO is CALEA accredited.
Divisions
The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office operates seven divisions: Corrections, Enforcement, Finance/Technology/Tax, Human Resources, Training/Professional Development, and Internal Affairs.
Corrections
Enforcement
The most visible division of the LPSO. This division utilizes marked Chevrolet Tahoes, Ford Crown Victorias, & Ford Explorer police interceptors, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and various unmarked police vehicles.
Uniformed Patrol - Responsible for answering calls for service, both emergency and non-emergency.
Communications Section - Provides 24-hour dispatch services for the LPSO and all municipalities in Lafayette Parish with the exception of the City of Lafayette. The link between the public and law enforcement, Dispatchers are linked to 911, and utilize Computer Aided Dispatch.
K-9 Section - Provides trained and dual certified dogs for patrol use. These dogs are used for building searches and apprehension of high risk suspects, and are also trained in narcotics detection. An explosive detection dog also serves Lafayette Parish and several other parishes in South Louisiana.
Traffic Escort Section - Provides traffic escort for every funeral service in Lafayette Parish, as well as other escort requests They also oversee the school crossing guard program.
Finance - Responsible for accounting, budgeting, payroll, benefits administration, purchasing and accounts payable.
Technology - The IT department plans the technology incentives for the Sheriff's Office, as well as managing the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff's network and other systems.
Tax - Responsible for collecting parish property taxes.
Civil Administration - Manage the finances of the civil department; sales and seizures and garnishments.
Human Resources
Responsible for hiring the most professional and qualified people to work for the Sheriff's Office.
Training/Professional
Responsible for training new recruits as well as advanced training for current deputies. This division operates the LPSO Reserve Academy and the LPSO Corrections Academy. It also operates a community training programs, offering programs to local citizens such as self-defense, firearms training, and hunter education.
ALETA - In 2003, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office joined together with the University of Louisiana to create ALETA, the Acadiana Law Enforcement Training Academy. This academy trains new LPSO deputies and UL Police officers, as well as recruits from several other police agencies in South Louisiana, to become P.O.S.T. certified law enforcement officers. The program is an eleven-week course that provides physical training and conditioning along with classroom instruction.
Internal Affairs
IA is charged with preserving integrity, honesty, and professionalism in the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office. It serves to protect the interests of the complainant, the accused employee, the Sheriff's Office, and the community.
Collaborations
Operation FALCON - Operation FALCON is a multi agency operation to apprehend fugitives in the Acadiana area.
Metro Narcotics - A collaboration between the LPSO and the Lafayette City Police to remove and keep illegal drugs off the streets of the City and Parish of Lafayette. Investigators from both agencies, along with personnel from the Louisiana National Guard's Counter Drug Program investigate drug related complaints made by citizens.
Metro Forensics - A collaboration between the LPSO and LPD to provide state of the artcrime scene investigation to all of Acadiana. Metro Forensics operates one of the most technologically advanced crime labs in the state of Louisiana.
