Republican Gov. Jeff Landy (R-LA) has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana over the state's police officer shortage.
According to the executive order, the state is "experiencing a police officer staff crisis," resulting in "an increased threat to the lives, property, and safety of persons within the state of Louisiana." The order will lift restrictions on the number of new employees Louisiana sheriffs can hire and restrictions on payroll increases for police departments.
The state's numbers of sheriffs are down by roughly 1,800 deputies statewide as of July 2023. The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association pointed out that employment rates are at a record low, resulting in delayed police response times.
During his run for governor last year, Landry's campaign focused on solutions to combat ongoing crime in Louisiana.
"As a former police officer and sheriff's deputy, I understand the vital role our law enforcement officers play in our communities. Currently, our state is facing a shortage of officers, resulting in increased crime and less public safety. Today's executive order and the upcoming crime special session will ensure our law enforcement officers are supported, and we can begin to bring law and order back to our state," Landry said in a statement.
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On Monday, the state's GOP-dominated Legislature will gather for a special legislative session that could re-structure Louisiana's criminal justice system and the public safety sector.
The executive director of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, Micheal Ranatza, praised Landry's dedication to making the state feel safe again and reversing the Left's soft-on-crime policies, which have put residents' safety at risk.
"We applaud Governor Landry for highlighting the importance of the law enforcement profession and our state's desperate need to fill valuable front-line deputy positions," Ranatza said.
During President Joe Biden's time as vice president, he touted the decline in crime, claiming that there was a spike in crime under the Trump Administration. However, the Detroit Free Press pointed out that Biden used different metrics and different time sets for each administration, resulting in the president giving incomplete and false crime data information.
In fact, during Trump's first two years in office, violent crime and murder rates decreased in 2017 and 2018. On the other hand, murders sky-rocketed in 2020 after Biden took office.
