Chuck Curry actually started his police career at the age of 19. However he went into the army and then came back to Winnfield and rejoined the Winnfield Police Department. He has been in the department for 24 years and became Assistant Chief of Police in August 2024 when Russell Jones retired. 

One of the things that has happened since his tenure began was the reopening of the jail in February 2025 after its closure for 4 years. They are only open at half-capacity due to air conditioning problems that will be fixed in the near future. There are 17 inmates at the present time. Curry realized that the department was spending a lot of money to house inmates in the parish detention center. 

Then Curry opened for questions so he could speak about what Kiwanians wanted to know. Of course, the first question had to do with the traffic cameras. There is one stationary and one hand-held. Since the program was instituted in October there have been 3248 notices sent. In the first few months ticket money was about $5000 per month. In the past few months that amount has gone down to $1500 – $2000 per month. There was a safety issue in front of Mac’s grocery and also at the intersection of Hwy 167 and Hwy 84. The number of accidents has decreased dramatically. Curry pointed out that there are three 35 mile-per-hour speed zone signs before you get to the camera. The money that the department receives from tickets goes into a special account and is supposed to be spent on public safety. 

A question was asked about how Winnfield salaries compared to other cities. An untrained officer starts at $12/hour. After 12 months they are eligible for supplemental pay but they have to be certified. They also have to pass a physical and the civil service test which is mostly common sense. Once they meet the requirements they go to the Police Academy. The police department has 13 full-time officers, 2 part-time officers, 4 jailers, 6 part-time jailers, 4 dispatchers and 1 part-time dispatcher. 

The police cars come from Enterprise Rental along with other city vehicles. They are in good shape and are turned in after 3 years. 

The last question was “what about the children?” We need to provide something for children in our community to do. This is an even bigger issue now that the children only go to school 4 days a week.

Jesse Phillips accompanied Lieutenant Curry to the meeting.

The Kiwanis club thanked Lieutenant Curry and the Winnfield Police department for all they do to keep our community safe.