Thibodaux lawmaker suggests a new way to fight crime in Lafourche. Here's his proposal.

A local state lawmaker is proposing to use money from golf cart permits to fight crime in Lafourche Parish. 

State Rep. Bryan Fontenot, R-Thibodaux, pitched the idea to the Lafourche Parish Council Tuesday in the wake of several shootings and thefts. 

“We know crime is certainly not new but there has been some crime lately in Lafourche,” Fontenot said. “I was confronted in my own yard by a masked gunman about two months ago. Thank goodness the Sheriff’s Office was able to get there to assist me. One of my friends was also the victim in a violent crime as he was trying to retain his four-wheeler that he was driving in Thibodaux and was subsequently shot.” 

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Fontenot, who has a background in law enforcement, called for parish leaders to come together to combat criminals. 

“This has a personal tone for me,” he said. “I think at this point when we look at crime in Lafourche Parish, this should be all hands on deck. We’re unique in that we live just 50 minutes from the sixth deadliest city in America per capita, New Orleans, and just 50 minutes to the north to the seventh deadliest city in the United States, Baton Rouge.  So, we live right in the middle of two extremely violent cities.” 

Fontenot said the parish could invest in state-of-the-art cameras that can scan and identify license plates to help police.  

“Having access to technology is very, very important,” he said. “So I’ve had this conversation with many people on how to fund these cameras.” 

One way to pay for such technology is to regulate golf carts by issuing permits, Fontenot said. Lafourche currently does not regulate golf carts. 

“Everywhere I go people in this parish are enjoying their communities by utilizing golf carts,” he said. “They go up and down our parish and we don’t have any enforcement. When I look at Grand Isle, for instance, they are one of many places in Louisiana that have legally allowed golf carts to travel on the sides of their city streets.” 

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Residents in Grand Isle pay $75 a year to purchase tags to operate golf carts on the island. If Lafourche would follow suit, the money collected from the permits could be used to purchase the cameras, Fontenot said. 

“Grand Isle raised an estimated $400,000 a year by allowing these carts to be on the streets,” he said. “By communicating with the people who sell these carts in Lafourche, I believe we have an estimated 3,000 carts that can potentially be used to pay a fee. I would ask if we could charge a fee so that those funds would be dedicated to helping the law enforcement community ascertain these cameras.” 

Some communities are trying to raise their own money to buy such cameras but the golf cart permits would save them from having to foot the bill, Fontenot said. 

Fontenot suggested the formation of a committee comprising himself, District Attorney Kristine Russell, Sheriff Craig Webre and a member of the council to further explore his golf cart proposal. 

“When criminals are aware of the ability of law enforcement to access technology to solve crimes, they will naturally detour away from our community,” Fontenot said. “This is not a solution. I’m just here to present an option to raise money to buy cameras.” 

Councilman Jim Wendell of Bayou Blue, who also serves as a sheriff’s deputy, volunteered to be on the committee.  

“The crime is getting out of control,” he said. “People want action. We really do need to nip it in the bud.” 

Fontenot said the cameras could give an extra set of eyes to beleaguered law enforcement agencies that are struggling to stay afloat amid national calls to defund police and labor shortages.  

“The law enforcement professional is becoming one of the most difficult professions there are in America,” he said. “They’ve come under attack and it’s become my job in the Capitol to protect the men and women who wear the badge.” 

— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.