The Sheriff’s Office in Jefferson Parish has a lot of history with the two predecessors, Harry Lee and Newell Normand, each serving the parish for decades. Newly elected Sheriff Joseph Lopinto acknowledges their legacy while embracing the uniquely broad job duties of the office while staying true to his personality and values that the public voted into office.
Low crime statistics in recent years, particularly as compared to the parish to the east, continue to make Jefferson Parish a thriving place for business and a parish where families can enjoy strong protection and quick response times. Though Sheriff Lopinto feels strongly that you can’t accurately compare a very urban area like Orleans to a suburban area like Jefferson Parish, he is committed to promoting and developing the projects and programs that keep Jefferson Parish safe.
The Sheriff’s Office is multifaceted, with Lopinto overseeing tax collection, personnel out on the street and the tools that they use. It the Sheriff’s job to make decisions about what is in the budget and what to prioritize in service of the mission to prevent and solve crimes. Lopinto brings to the position years of legislative experience, as well as his experience as a deputy that he plans to leverage to make sure that the Sheriff’s Office is accurately communicating to officers and support staff to prevent a new person from becoming a victim.
How do we continue to be the parish where families can enjoy strong protection and quick response times?
Our goal is to solve crimes quickly. Thieves don’t get a chance to commit another crime if we are doing our part in catching them early using the modern tools available. Tomorrow isn’t here yet so what it will look like isn’t clear. Today we have digital forensics to refine crime scene videos and analyze digital evidence. They didn’t have that 20 years ago. Twenty years ago, they didn’t have resource officers in schools. We are one of the leaders in the field. Our offices are embedded; they become mentors and counselors to a generation of kids. We don’t have a lot of turnover, these officers know what the job is, they like the job and contribute to a better learning environment and build relationships so that kids can succeed.
Are there any community partnerships that you feel are important and/or could be expanded to continue the fight against crime?
We have partnerships with outside agencies like the Louisiana Heart Association and Louisiana Special Olympics. We are a community leader and need to be involved with these organizations to have a better place for our kids to grow up and live.
The bottom line is that you are always prioritizing. We have a great Cops and Clergy program that supplies grants to offer tutoring programs and summer camp. We also have a young marines program run in-house. Our Band of Excellence program we started a few years ago allows high school and middle school students who have an interest in music to receive musical training and engage youth in positive activity. We are currently issuing seven scholarships that are band members, giving kids a chance at not only participating in the community, but a shot at college and a future of their choosing. I want people to know about the good that we do, the good calls we go on, not just crime alerts. We honor our centenarians, residents turning 100 years, with an embroidered blanket and plaque. Barron’s Bears, named after a deputy who used to carry teddy bears in the back of his car to help with trauma, now sends bears to support programs and agencies around the country.
In general, how do you align or differ from the management and style of your predecessors, Newell Normand and Harry Lee?
All three of us were attorneys, but my start, and my career, was a deputy on the street. I have a unique perspective as a former narcotics detective. We all had our good moments in life, but the reality is that I’ve got to make decisions that are going to affect us going forward and those decisions didn’t even exist 20 years ago. I understand the big picture of the Sheriff’s Office, that we are not just law enforcement. That I am the CEO of a large corporation and I have duties that take me out of law enforcement: monitoring legislation within the Louisiana legislature, taxes, crime civil issues, they can all affect the sheriff’s office. Things change in law enforcement and you can’t police like you did in the 80s and 90s. At the end of the day, people want to go home knowing that the system works. I will uphold this legacy by being abreast of new opportunities and new situations to uphold and improve the quality of life for our residents and businesses. •
