Crime is at levels not seen in more than two decades in St. Charles Parish, Sheriff Greg Champagne announced today, falling to its lowest levels since 1996.
Champagne said there are several reasons for the drop.
"First and foremost, we have a group of well trained, dedicated and motivated men and women in uniform who take crime prevention and apprehension personally and seriously as they live and raise their families here as well," Champagne began.
"Technology plays an important role as well in this prevention and apprehension effort," he continued. "We now have the full cooperation of our District Attorney and his assistants who are working diligently to prosecute and imprison those career repeat offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime."
The sheriff said years of community efforts with youngsters such as DARE, the School Resource Officer Program, Summer Sheriffs Camp and other juvenile justice initiatives have had an impact the sheriff said "cannot be understated."
Champagne also credited citizen involvement.
The sheriff concluded, "although these numbers are great, we never sit on laurels and constantly seek to find ways to further reduce crime in all areas."