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2019 is in the history books, and it was a positive year for the St. John Sheriff’s Office. Let’s take look at our year in review.

First, the Lloyd B. Johnson Training facility on Cambridge Drive has started and is quickly moving toward completion. Officers are required to have a certain amount of training each year, and they are required to practice and maintain certain certifications in order to carry a gun. My mission is to make sure that our officers have a state-of-the-art facility to maintain the highest level of training. It is a proven fact that well trained officers are more efficient. We are planning for the grand opening and ribbon cutting in 2020!

After delays of high water in the Mississippi and unknown underground fiber optic lines being in the way, we are finally underway with a public safety facility that will better serve our West Bank residents. We are expecting the grand opening and ribbon cutting in 2020 as well!

I have always strongly believed that just putting people in jail and throwing away the key does not work in real crime prevention.

The St. John Sheriff’s Office “Opportunity Now” rehabilitation program for inmates being released from jail proved to be very successful in 2019. Participants in this program are given coursework, skills training and guidance through the process of community re-entry. This program has been successful in decreasing the number of repeat offenders.

Our RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) self-defense classes for females saw some poor attendance in the beginning of the year. The new strategy of using of the holiday breaks from school and work to improve participation has given us the largest class number since we started. A second class during the Christmas Holiday break was added due to increased participation.

In 2019, our Distinguished Gentleman’s Club started its third year since inception with it largest registered class of 35 young men. The interaction between these young men and our officers has been motivational and inspiring in the lives of the participants and officers alike.

Finally, in 2019, the Parish Government moved into a new complex right next door. The Percy Hebert Building, named in honor of a former St. John Sheriff, is now completely inhabited by Sheriff’s office employees. One parking lot now gives citizens access to almost all government services in one stop. We welcome citizens to come by for a tour of the new renovations completed mainly with inmate labor, saving the taxpayers lots of money.

As 2020 is finally here, I remain humbled and thankful to the voters for electing me to continue to serve as sheriff of St. John Parish for a third term. The Inauguration Ceremony for the Sheriff’s Office will be held in June of this year. Full details will be provided in the coming months. Until then, I will continue to work hard to keep our Parish safe. Happy New Year! God Bless! Stay safe!

Mike Tregre is sheriff of St. John the Baptist Parish. Reach him at m.tregre@stjohnsheriff.org