Ferriday Police Chief Bo Stevens is for Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office assisting police officers in enforcing the law in Ferriday.
At this month’s town meeting, CPSO Sheriff David Hedrick asked Ferriday Town Council to allow the Sheriff’s office to assist enforcing law in the town.
“We have talked about that before, and I would certainly welcome the Sheriff’s office in here,” Stevens said. “That’s what we are all here for. We are all out for the same thing. “
Hedrick said he will present a package to Ferriday for their approval in the near future.
Ferriday’s police and fire departments were closed for four days late last month before the town adopted its budget on January 31. The Sheriff’s office and Louisiana State Police patrolled Ferriday during the shutdown.
“When we were working the town, we got 12 guns off the street and made 27 arrests,” Hedrick said. “What we would like to do is to come in and place about eight deputies on rotation in town to answer 911 calls and to enforce the law the way they have been trained to deal with the criminal element.”
“We have funds geared toward this program,” Hedrick said. “We would ask the Town of Ferriday to provide funds for these deputies. We have had several calls from people asking us to come in and assist. Ferriday is a good place with a lot of great citizens. They have a right to be safe.”
Hedrick said allowing the Sheriff’s office to assist would also be beneficial for current and future businesses.
“If people don’t feel safe, they are not going to do business in Ferriday,” Hedrick said. “If we removed the criminal element, they will feel safe. The town was in disrepair when they didn’t have a budget. We had an overwhelming amount of people calling us to enforce the law and we responded.”
Stevens said both departments are short-handed.
“Working together will help everyone,” Stevens said. “We’ll be able to cover more ground and make this community safer.”
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