Sheriff’s Office to soon open FEMA-funded new sub-station on Paris Road in Chalmette and another on West Judge Perez Drive near the parish line in Arabi; A third opened on St. Claude in Arabi

Sub-station on Paris Road that will open in early July.	Sub-station being built on West Judge Perex Drive in Arabi and will likely open in early August.
Sheriff James Pohlmann speaks to Kiwanis Club about the Sheriff’s Office	Sheriff James Pohlmann with Kiwanis Club President Mitch Perkins.

Two long-awaited new sub-stations will soon open on Paris Road in Chalmette and on West Judge Perez Drive near the parish line in Arabi, funded by FEMA, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

They will join a sub-station which opened on St. Claude Avenue at the parish line last December to form a means to help close off streets into and out of the parish if necessary, the sheriff said.

Sheriff Pohlmann, speaking at the St. Bernard Kiwanis Club, said the Sheriff’s Office has achieved getting three new stations without spending any money, thanks to creatively using a pool of funds provided by FEMA. Combine that with closing an old station being leased for years on Paris Road will provide money to pay for utilities on the new buildings, the sheriff said.

“This is something we have been trying to accomplish for quite a while,’’ he said. “We had a limited amount of money and needed to make sure we spent every dollar wisely.’’

The three new sub-stations will also be a part of the Sheriff’s Office crime suppression strategy and should give residents “peace of mind’’ that the parish can be effectively shut down in case of an emergency, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

The new stations in Arabi replace the two sub-stations which stood there prior to being damaged in Hurricane Katrina, the sheriff said.

A 5,000 square-foot building will open in early July at 4700 Paris Road, being built with the help of a donation of one square block of prime real estate by the Meraux Foundation.

About a month later, it is expected a 5,000 square-foot station being built at 7001 West Judge Perez Drive at Aycock Street in Arabi will open, the sheriff said.

They will join an 8,193 square-foot sub-station which opened in December at 6501 St. Claude Ave. next to the Jackson Barracks National Guard base. It houses the offices of the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, Juvenile Investigations Bureau, Crime Scene investigations including facilities to process evidence, the sex offender registry and investigation of domestic violence cases.

When the sub-stations in Arabi were first opened in the 1990s, Sheriff Pohlmann said, they were a psychological deterrent to criminals from outside St. Bernard who could see police were there and would know if they committed a crime they would have to leave the parish past those stations.

Giving an overview of the department, Sheriff Pohlmann also said there is a heavy responsibility in overseeing a Sheriff’s Office which averages 3,000 calls for service every month and makes 200 arrests per month, as well as running 24-hour a day operations for a prison, Communications Division and Patrol Division. “We have a lot to do with 280 employees.’’

The hiring process for officers was also ungraded involving creation of a hiring board made up of experienced deputies who interview applicants and make recommendations he reviews, the sheriff said.

“We are trying to add more officers and upgrade our fleet and technology services,’’ the sheriff said. Application for employment in entry level jobs in the Corrections and Communication divisions or by experienced officers from other department who want to join the Patrol Division, can made at the Sheriff’s Annex at No. 2 Courthouse Square, behind the Courthouse in Chalmette.

Those who would like to apply for the volunteer Reserve Division can call Capt. Charles Borchers at 278-7628.

Increased training programs for deputies have been implemented, the sheriff said, and through grants the department has been successful in obtaining money used to get its first mobile emergency command post, a patrol boat big enough to be used on the Mississippi River and a deep-water truck that can BE used for evacuating residents in a rain storm event.

The sheriff also acknowledged that like elsewhere in the nation, drug abuse – particularly a surge in heroin use being seen throughout many areas – remains a problem and is the leading cause of property crimes. Addicts steal to get money to feed their habit, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

“If you could fix the drug problem you fix the crime problem,’’ he said.