The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) (French: ) is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates and management of correctional facilities within the state of Louisiana. The agency is headquartered in Baton Rouge."Headquarters ." Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. Retrieved on December 8, 2009. "504 Mayflower Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802" The agency comprises two major areas: Public Safety Services and Corrections Services. The secretary, who is appointed by the governor of Louisiana, serves as the department's chief executive officer. The Corrections Services deputy secretary, undersecretary, and assistant secretaries for the Office of Adult Services and the Office of Youth Development report directly to the secretary. Headquarters administration consists of centralized divisions that support the management and operations of the adult and juvenile institutions, adult and juvenile probation and parole district offices, and all other services provided by the department.
Louisiana is a significant outlier in terms of incarceration rate within the United States, which already has among the highest incarceration rates of any country in the world. With an incarceration rate (including jail inmates awaiting trial) over 1,000 per 100,000 residents, Louisiana has a higher rate of incarceration than any country except El Salvador.
Agency overview The three major divisions (Corrections Services, Office of Juvenile Justice, and Public Safety Services) operate and report to the governor of Louisiana separately even though they are the same department according to the Louisiana Constitution."Frequently Asked Questions." Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. Retrieved on February 15, 2017.
Office of the Secretary
In 2024, Governor Jeff Landry appointed Gary Westcott to serve as the secretary. Westcott replaced James M. "Jimmy" LeBlanc who retired after serving more than 50 years in corrections and 16 years as the secretary.
The secretary is responsible for the functioning and control of all programs within the department. He formulates rules and regulations and determines policy regarding management, personnel, and total operations. He leads and supports staff, who are charged with carrying out the work of the agency.
As part of the secretary's office, the deputy secretary is responsible for special duties and functions as assigned by the secretary. Primary among them are oversight of the Children's Initiative, coordination and management of the department's Critical Incident Stress Management response, and support and facilitation of the Risk Review Panel process.
Other executive staff carry out long and short-term projects. The Legal Services Division represents and defends the department in litigation, including civil service matters. The Crime Victims Services Bureau coordinates the department's response to crime victims, including the process of registration and notification and support of a restorative justice initiative. The deputy secretary of the Department of Public Safety serves as Superintendent of the Louisiana State Police."Offices." Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. Retrieved on February 15, 2017.
Gordon Russell and Maya Lau of The Baton Rouge Advocate wrote that the salary of Burl Cain, warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary from 1995 to 2016, was $167,211 per year, $30,000 higher than that of LeBlanc, a previous subordinate and personal friend of Cain; Russell and Lau stated that many observers considered Cain the de facto head of the department.Russell, Gordon and Maya Lau. "Fall of Burl Cain: How 1 last side deal led to Angola warden undoing " (Archive). The Advocate. December 10, 2015. Retrieved on April 15, 2016.
Office of Management and Finance
Under the authority of the undersecretary, the Office of Management and Finance provides management support to all units in activities involving fiscal matters and grant management, information services, food services, maintenance and construction, performance audit, training, procurement and contractual review, human resources, and the Prison Enterprises Division. The undersecretary serves as chief of staff for headquarters operations.
Office of Adult Services
Under the direction of an assistant secretary, the Office of Adult Services (OAS) provides administrative oversight of and support for the operational programs of the adult institutions and provides technical assistance to local jail facilities. The assistant secretary leads and directs the department's operational audit teams, which conduct audits of all adult and juvenile institutions, non-secure contract facilities, and community work release centers and assist all units with matters relative to the maintenance of American Correctional Association (ACA) accreditation. OAS staff support the Administrative Remedy Procedure and disciplinary appeal processes, screen and recommend inmates for participation in work release, and maintain central office ACA accreditation. There are eleven adult institutions under the broad authority of the assistant secretary, including two operated under contractual agreements with private management corporations.
Office of Youth Development
Under the direction of an assistant secretary, the Office of Youth Development (OYD) has policy oversight and support responsibilities for state programs for youth who are adjudicated delinquent and many youth and their families ruled in need of services by courts of juvenile jurisdiction. OYD staff also support the Administrative Remedy Procedure and disciplinary appeal processes for juveniles and perform quality assurance activities for the juvenile institutions.
Additionally, the Division of Youth Services (DYS) provides probation and parole supervision and coordinates both residential and non-residential treatment services for delinquent youth and for status offenders and their families. DYS has offices located in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Harvey, Hammond, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, Opelousas, Shreveport, Tallulah, and Thibodaux. As of May 30, 2003, there were 6476 youth under supervision – 5630 as adjudicated delinquents and 846 as FINS (Families in Need of Services).
Division of Probation and Parole-Adult
The Division of Probation and Parole-Adult, comprising twenty-two district offices throughout the state and a Headquarters Office in Baton Rouge, functions as a community services division. Officers of the division supervise adult felony offenders who are released to the community on probation, parole, diminution of sentence, or medical furlough. They have a broad range of duties from drug screening offenders, to executing parole warrants. Officers are commissioned, P.O.S.T. certified, law enforcement officers with arrest powers. They supervise offenders living in the community serving felony sentences outside of incarceration. They also supervise inmates in ten community rehabilitation centers (CRCs) and the intensive parole cases from institutional IMPACT (Intensive Motivational Program of Alternative Correctional Treatment). Officers in the division provide investigative services to decision-makers in the criminal justice system, including judges, the Parole and Pardon Boards, and the Governor's Office. They oversee collection of various criminal justice fees, supervision fees, and victim restitution. District offices are located in Alexandria, Amite, Baton Rouge, Chalmette, Clinton, Covington, Donaldsonville, Harvey, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Leesville, Minden, Monroe, Natchitoches, New Iberia, New Orleans, Port Allen, Shreveport, Tallulah, Thibodaux, and Ville Platte. During FY 2002–03, officers supervised collection of more than $20,752,527. As of July 1, 2003, officers of the division were supervising 63,000 offenders.Louisiana Department of Corrections website
Prison Enterprises Division
The Prison Enterprises Division (PE) helps to reduce the overall cost of prison operations and the operating costs of other state agencies, local government entities, and other tax-supported institutions primarily by operating self-supported industrial and agricultural businesses that employ inmates in meaningful jobs, teach them marketable skills and good work habits, and provide quality, cost-effective products and services. PE pays incentive wages for all inmates who are eligible. Farming operations include row crops and garden vegetables, range herds, a swinery, food processing, a feed mill, land leveling, hay production, and forestry. Industrial operations include the manufacture of license plates, mattresses, mops, brooms, chemicals, garments, and office chairs; a print shop; silkscreen operations; a plastic sign shop; metal fabrication; embroidery and furniture refurbishing; and janitorial services for other agencies.
Board of Pardons
The five members of the Board of Pardons are appointed by the governor. The board meets on regularly scheduled, publicly announced dates to consider applications for pardon, sentence commutation, and restoration of rights and privileges of citizenship. All of the board's recommendations for clemency are forwarded to the governor for final action.
Board of Parole
The seven members of the Board of Parole are appointed by the governor. Board members function in three-person panels to grant or deny parole to inmates who are eligible for parole, set behavioral conditions for inmates released to parole by action of the board or by diminution of sentence, and hold hearings for inmates facing revocation for violating conditions of their release from incarceration.
Public Safety Services The head of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety Services (LADPS) is the Secretary of Public Safety and Corrections.There are several divisions, including the Office of Management and Finance, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO), and the Louisiana State Police.
LOSCO was created in 1991 after the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. It coordinates oil spill responses, develops oil spill contingency plans, trains for oil spill drills, is the lead for the state in natural resource damage assessments for oil spills in Louisiana, maintains the Louisiana Oil Spill Management System, a public database with up to date information on oil spill response and restoration funds, administers the Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program, helps select restoration projects to be implemented to compensate the public for the natural resources and services injured by a given oil spill; and it sponsors and/or attends professional training courses.
Louisiana State Police
The Superintendent of the Louisiana State Police also serves as ex officio Deputy Secretary of Public Safety Services, with more than 2600 personnel. Beginning January 8, 2024, Robert P. Hodges will replace outgoing Colonel Lamar Davis as the 27th Louisiana State Police superintendent and deputy secretary of Public Safety Services.
The Public Safety Services also includes the Office of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Public Safety enforcement officers, the Office of State Fire Marshal, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission which includes anhydrous ammonia, Office of legal affairs, and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
Louisiana State Police Patrol Division The Transportation Safety Services (TSS), within the Louisiana State Police Patrol Division, includes the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, which includes the Motor Carrier Safety Unit, Towing and Recovery Unit (1989- Louisiana Towing and Storage Act), Motor Vehicle Inspection Unit, and the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.
Corrections Services