BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency due to a shortage of police officers.
Landry’s executive order issued Thursday lifts limits on the number of new employees Louisiana sheriffs can hire and on pay increases for their departments.
Landry, who previously had a career in law enforcement, said police departments in the state are experiencing record levels of employment “resulting in increased crime and decreased public safety.” As of July, there were 1,800 fewer deputies across the state, Landry said.
“We applaud Governor Landry for highlighting the importance of the law enforcement profession and our state’s desperate need to fill valuable deputy positions on the front lines,” Michael Ranatza, executive director of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, said in a written statement Friday .
Landry’s order lifts restrictions that state law places on hiring and payroll for a specified period after a gubernatorial election. Landry was elected last year and took office in January.
Agencies across the U.S. have faced police shortages in recent years that many in law enforcement blame on a morale blow from the coronavirus pandemic and criticism of police that boiled over after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Small towns, including Maine, Texas and Ohio, have disbanded their police departments and turned law enforcement work over to county sheriffs, a neighboring city or state police.
Officer firings are up 47% in 2022 compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic and Floyd’s killing, according to a survey of nearly 200 police agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C., think tank. Pensions have increased by 19%.
Landry’s order is in effect until March 15. Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday for a special legislative session to tackle crime.
The “executive order and upcoming special crime session will ensure that our law enforcement officers are supported and that we can begin to bring law and order back to our state,” Landry said.
Proposed bills introduced ahead of the session include legislation to expand the methods for carrying out death row executions, limit the right to parole, add harsher sentences for some crimes and make some juvenile court records public to make.
Landry, a former local police officer and sheriff’s deputy, has vowed to crack down on crime in Louisiana, which has had one of the nation’s highest murder rates in recent years. The issue was part of his gubernatorial platform, often pointing to New Orleans, which is in the national spotlight for violent crimes and will be the site of the 2025 Super Bowl.
Earlier this month, Landry presented his first proposed state budget, which included tens of millions of additional dollars for public safety. At least $32 million would fund several state police initiatives, including expanding the state police presence in New Orleans, a uniform grant increase and an independent review of the department, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported .