New Kiwanis member Sheriff Josh McAllister spoke to the Kiwanis club on Tuesday,

September 17.  He told members he is blessed with a great team and the office is the people of Winn Parish’s office. 

There are good people in the office and on the team. One of the first accomplishments of his office was starting the litter abatement team and they have picked up a lot of garbage. They have also received a grant that will allow them to have another litter abatement team. In the past week a robbery was caught in progress at Saline Lake.

Increased patrols have been put into place to deter crime. There are zones in the parish and each zone has officer on patrol. This means there is quicker response times in emergencies. This is called community policing. The sheriff’s office is not to make money but to use that money to service the community.  $150,000 was used for repairs and maintenance on the Winn Detention Center. The chase team is 8 for 8 being used in Winn Parish and to help other parishes.

A question was asked about the situation at the schools last week. The school superintendent called the sheriff about threats against schools being made on social media. These threats were state wide threats but additional resource officers were placed at all Winn Parish Schools. Later in the day a 13 year old juvenile was arrested for making a threat on Instagram and later that night another 13 year old juvenile was arrested for making another threat. These threats were against the local schools. They are being held at the present time. Sheriff McAllister will be speaking to the students at each school about the use of social media and consequences. School resource officers have special training and certification for their responsibilities. There is a new DARE accredited officer who is also a resource officer. Along with talking about drugs they will also be talking about suicide which is a problem among young people.

A question was asked about the previous CCA facility that is now being used as an ICE facility. There are 3 contracts with that facility-one with the state, one with ICE and one with Lasalle Management company who oversees the facility. Most of the employees out there are employed by the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office.

It is no surprise to know that we have a drug problem. The main drugs are fentanyl and meth. Fentanyl is being combined with meth and with marijuana. They have the tools to deal with drug problems. They have drones but need a certified pilot. There is a narcotic officer and also another one in training. A cooperative task force with Jackson Parish has been established. 

They are working on a sheriff’s app which should be available in a month. This app can be used to give tips, to put money on account for inmates, missing persons, checking on the elderly, emergency information and many other pieces of information.

Sheriff McAllister says he loves being sheriff and is very blessed to have the job.