Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (a Republican) declared a state-of-emergency in response to the severe shortage of police officers across the entire state. Landry has been vowing to crackdown on crime for years.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry declared a state-of-emergency due to a severe shortage of officers in the state.

Landry’s Executive Order issued Thursday lifted limits on the number of new employees Louisiana sheriffs may hire as well as on their departmental payroll increases.

Louisiana Sheriff’s Association estimates sheriff’s offices in the state are short of approximately 1,800 deputies. This causes challenges to maintaining adequate staffing and increases response times for emergency calls.

Governor Landry’s executive order was issued in response to the urgent need for more law enforcement personnel.

Michael Ranatza of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association expressed his support for Governor Landry’s action, highlighting the need to fill vacant positions at the frontlines of law enforcement.

Ranatza said: “We applaud the Governor Landry’s highlighting of the importance and the desperate need for our state to fill valuable front-line deputy positions.”

Landry, a former sheriff’s deputy and police officer, emphasized the importance of law enforcement officers to ensure public safety and maintain order in communities.

Landry stated: “Our state currently faces a shortage in officers, which results in increased crime and decreased public safety.” In addition, he asserted that an upcoming special session on crime will support law enforcement and initiate measures to bring order back across Louisiana.

Landry announced last week a special session of the legislature focusing on crime. This could be a major overhaul to the criminal justice system in Louisiana, undoing historic and hard-fought reforms made under Landry’s Democratic predecessor.

Among the two dozen tough-on-crime-related items on Landry’s broad agenda are expanding methods to carry out death row executions, restricting parole eligibility, harsher penalties for carjackings, “immunity from liability” for law enforcement based upon certain criteria and publicizing some juvenile court records.

He said, “We will defend our law enforcement officers and bring true justice to victims of crime who have been ignored for too long.” I’m eager to make real changes that will make Louisiana a safer place for everyone. The special session begins on February 19 and ends by March 6 evening.

Landry, a Republican, has promised to crackdown on crime for years in Louisiana – a state which in recent times has seen one of the nation’s highest homicide rate.

This issue was a central part of his gubernatorial campaign. He often pointed to New Orleans as the city that has attracted national attention for its violent crime, and which will host the Super Bowl in 2025.

Violent crime was a major concern for voters during the past election. Violence in Louisiana increased, as it did in many other areas of the United States, after the COVID-19 outbreak.

While data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that crime in Louisiana has decreased steadily over the last decade, New Orleans continues to experience a spike of murders.

Louisiana will hold its second special session after Landry was elected last month. Under Landry’s direction, during the first legislative meeting, the GOP-dominated Legislature passed a map of the congressional district with a majority-Black district, and a bill reshaping the primary system in congressional elections.