LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero sat down with us on Acadiana Crimestoppers to talk about the state of the department and crime fighting efforts in Iberia Parish.

He highlights, firstly, deputies have gotten raises, leading to more competitive salaries and increased recruitment.

“We recently last year, passed the sales tax, which went towards lifting the salaries of our officers,” said Romero.

He says this jump-started recruitment. In fact, several deputies are newly hired.

“They’re in the academy at the present, we’re going to get them on the road as soon as possible,” explained Romero.

He also talks about corrections and how its fully staffed in the parish.

“This is the first time in four years that I had no vacancy for correction officers at the parish jail,” said Romero.

Romero explained that these extra officers will help the department better serve its citizens, as there is strength in numbers.

“More visibility, more vehicles out there, and also cut our response time down a lot,” said Romero.

The department reports the number of crimes has fallen year-over-year.

“It has decreased, somewhat, but we still have a little bit more things to tackle,” explained Romero.

The department also has a new and growing division. The “Motorcycle Division” which just added two new bikes to the mix, will put deputies on two wheels, instead of four.

These bikes, and deputies trained to use them, will add many different functions to the department.

“Escorts, working radar, how to stop vehicles the safe way,” said Romero.

But Romero has the idea to use this division as a force to protect school zones.

“We’re getting these guys trained,” said Romero. “We want to take that unit and put them out in the school zones where we have an issue with speeding in school zones.”

He says it will also give citizens a more personal interaction with his deputies.

“We use the bikes for parades, community relations with people, it gives a more personal contact with the deputy stopping someone in regard to a traffic violation,” said Romero.

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