Sheriff-elect Josh McAllister was the guest of honor at Winnfield Rotary Club’s meeting on February 14 at the invitation of Rotarian of the Day, Scarlett Lee. McAllister will be sworn into office at midnight on June 30, 2024.
He spoke to the Rotarians of his plans for the Sheriff’s office when he takes over the post. In connection with his law enforcement duties, he will appoint as his chief criminal deputy retired State Trooper Mike Gilliam and plans to increase the number of officers and patrols.
The sheriff-elect also plans to participate in an intergovernmental task force and join with our neighboring parishes in combating the use and distribution of illegal drugs. His plans also include involvement of local church groups in drug rehabilitation programs.
With respect to the parish detention center, McAllister will have a workforce development crew to assist inmates in getting employment and integrating into the community upon their release. Although the cost of housing inmates is rising, he believes he can reasonably decrease the rate charged by the sheriff’s office to the police jury per inmate so the police jury may operate more efficiently and economically.
Sheriff-elect McAllister will place a trained member of the Sheriff’s force in each school in the parish. He will also work to have a trained emergency medical technician on every shift. His office will continue providing escorts for teams of school children attending out-of-town events. In addition to maintaining the current program for safety of elderly citizens, his office will have a wellness care program for the elderly.
Other plans include a partnership with the local Heart of Louisiana Humane Society to provide an animal shelter for stray animals in the parish, a program for victims of crime to provide feedback to his office about their complaints or satisfaction concerning handling of the offenses committed against them, providing ATV safety classes, providing narcotic reversal drugs for all deputies to keep on hand, expansion of the DARE program with grants, and forming advisory boards to review operations and problems and make recommendations for correction and improvement of services.