Overview

The Plaquemine Police Department handles all law enforcement issues within the city limits of Plaquemine. This includes traffic control and issuing traffic tickets, crime prevention, and criminal investigations and arrests.

Community Involvement

The Police Department actively works with residents to help them prevent crime by providing in home security checks and recommendations, working with neighborhood groups to establish Neighborhood Watch groups, and providing in-school training for children on topics such as:

• Bike safety
• Drug awareness
• How to handle strangers who approach them
• Other topics

In addition, the Department provides tours of the police station for youth groups, provides a police escort for St. John High games, sponsors Youth Day and Santa at the Police Station events each year, and provides other community services.

Staff

The Plaquemine Police Department is under the command of elected Police Chief Kenny Payne The staff includes 16 patrol officers, four detectives, one juvenile officer, two narcotics investigators, four part-time officers, four dispatchers, three officer workers, and a part-time flotilla officer.  The City's Bike Patrol includes a certified Bike Patrol instructor and three certified officers.

Equipment

All Plaquemine City Police patrol units are fully equipped with all law enforcement equipment, including digital cameras to tape interaction of traffic stops and suspects, and state-of-the-art computers that provide detailed information on suspects and vehicles with the click of a button. These computers help officers know what situations they might be faced with in approaching vehicles or suspects. The department also has several unmarked police units.

It also maintains a boat for water rescues or law enforcement needs, a sophisticated mug shot database that does analysis and facial recognition processes, satellite radio and phone equipment and Taser Shot training equipment, which allows officer training using taser guns in public settings, such as City Hall. The Taser Shot system will also be offered at community events for shooting practice.

Mobile Command Center

The Police Department also has access to the new Mobile Command Center, a $350,000 emergency command center that allows numerous emergency response and law enforcement agencies to communicate with each other, provides a closed circuit TV, computers, weather station, and other equipment. The Center will be shared among Iberville Parish law enforcement and emergency response agencies.