This Week in Louisiana Politics: Gov. Jeff Landry talks about crime, wants to focus on courts next

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Gov. Jeff Landry talked to This Week in Louisiana Politics host Fred Childers about crime while calling for a focus on the court system.

The governor has voiced support for National Guard troops in Louisiana.

He said President Donald Trump recognizes that places become safer with “boots on the ground,” noting that troops serve as a “force multiplier” to law enforcement agencies.

“What’s different from Louisiana than other major cities is we’ve been tackling crime in anticipation [of] President Trump coming into office. He was a complete blessing not only to the state of Louisiana, but to the country as a whole,” Landry said.

Landry stated that the media should be covering court systems and district attorneys. “We’ve got prosecutors that are not holding criminals accountable. We’ve got judges [who] are just basically turning our court system into a revolving door. And those are the questions and the concerns that I have here,” he said.

He said perhaps the legislature needs to shift focus to the court system after the crime special session. Out of the 42 district attorneys in Louisiana, Landry said most are doing a great job.

“There are some judicial districts in this state under which the judges need to start getting serious about putting criminals behind bars. I can tell you from a federal level, our federal bench here in the Middle District is not exactly the most pro police, pro-criminal justice federal bench,” Landry said.

More topics on This Week in Louisiana Politics.

Cassidy on vaccine data

When asked if he thinks parents should have confidence in the vaccine advisory panel if they change the childhood vaccine schedule, Sen. Bill Cassidy said no.

Cassidy said if the vaccine schedule is changed, insurance companies won’t be required to cover it, meaning many families will have to pay for it or go without.

Millions in coastal restoration funding

Louisiana is getting an extra funding boost to aid in coastal restoration. According to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the federal government is giving Louisiana a $122 million grant. This money comes from penalty fees paid by BP Oil for the 2010 oil spill.

Officials said part of the money is going towards building drainage structures near Lake Charles.

Brad Cascio announces bid for district attorney position

The assistant district attorney of St. Helena and Livingston parishes is vying for the top seat. Brad Cascio announced his candidacy after current District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said he would not seek reelection.

Cascio is currently running unopposed. The election is set for next fall.

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