LPSO’s Police Social Services Section receives valuable funding

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office announced last Wednesday that one of their nationally and internally-renown programs is getting a big financial boost.

Sheriff Craig Webre said his award-winning Police Social Services Section will receive $400,000 over the next 24 months so that they can continue to protect victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

The funding is from the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lt. Karla Beck, the coordinator of the Lafourche PSS program, said the funding will take an already good thing and make it even better.

“This funding will enable us to make a great program even better,” she said. “Police Social Services has always worked diligently to eradicate the growing epidemic of domestic violence and this new grant will only strengthen our efforts to attack it.”

Webre agreed and applauded Beck and the others with the PSS for their hard work and dedication.

Because, as the sheriff said, the Department of Justice recognizes the hard work and positive impact the section on the community.

“The Department of Justice has already awarded PSS with its highest honor, so it goes without saying they are very familiar with the outstanding work these specially trained deputies do every day to protect victims in this parish,” Webre said. “This funding will ensure their dedicated work will continue uninterrupted.”

The need for a strong PSS program in Lafourche stems from Louisiana ranking No. 1 in America in the frequency of women being killed by their intimate partners.

“Lafourche plans to do its part in changing that statistic,” Beck said.

During the next two years, the funding received by the sheriff’s office will go toward providing the salaries for the following:

• An assistant district attorney assigned exclusively to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking cases

• A resource coordinator with the District Attorney’s Office to serve as a liaison between law enforcement agencies, the Metropolitan Center for Women and Children, the Haven and the court system

• Lafourche Sheriff’s Office First-Responder specialists assigned exclusively to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking cases

• Two full-time Victims Advocates hired by MCWC to assist victims.

In addition, monies will be divided to help train law enforcement personnel as to victim safety and other pertinent issues, as well as expanding the computer-based information-sharing network and to help implement a violent offender probation monitoring service for high-risk cases.