LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero sat down with us on Acadiana Crimestoppers to talk about the state of the department and crime fighting efforts in Iberia parish. He highlights, firstly, deputies have gotten raises, leading to more competitive salaries and increased recruitment. “We recently last year, passed the sales tax, which went towards lifting the salaries of our officers,” says Sheriff Romero.
He says this jump-started recruitment. In fact, several deputies are newly hired. “They’re in the academy at the present, we’re going to get them on the road as soon as possible,” explains Sheriff Romero.
He also talks about corrections and how its fully staffed in the parish. “This is the first time in four years that I had no vacancy for correction officers at the parish jail,” says Sheriff Romero.
Sheriff Romero explains these extra officers will help the department better serve its citizens, as there is strength in numbers. “More visibility, more vehicles out there, and also cut our response time down a lot,” says Sheriff Romero.
The crime rate is also dropping. The department reports the number of crimes has fallen year-over-year. “It has decreased, somewhat, but we still have a little bit more things to tackle,” explains Sheriff Romero.
The department also has a new and growing division. The ‘Motorcycle Division,’ which just added two new bikes to the mix, will put deputies on two wheels, instead of four. “We are currently training our in-house deputies to learn how to do motors.” These bikes, and deputies trained to use them, will add many different functions to the department. “Escorts, working radar, how to stop vehicles the safe way,” adds Sheriff Romero.
But Sheriff Romero has the idea to use this division as a force to protect school zones. “We’re getting these guys trained,” says Sheriff Romero. “We want to take that unit and put them out in the school zones where we have an issue with speeding in school zones,” adds Sheriff Romero.
He says it will also give citizens a more personal interaction with his deputies. “We use the bikes for parades, community relations with people, it gives a more personal contact with the deputy stopping someone in regard to a traffic violation,” explains Sheriff Romero.
The message the Sheriff wants to send, proactive policing is happening in Iberia parish, and the efforts will continue to pay off. “We’re moving in the right direction, crime rate is down for Iberia,” says Sheriff Romero.
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