‘It’s not working’: Vermilion Parish Sheriff reflects on juvenile crime issue

Rodricka Taylor
·2 min read

ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY)– Sheriff Mike Couvillon told News 10 there is a major problem with juvenile crime within the parish.

“We had over 200 juvenile cases which run from homicide, armed robbery, sex charges, burglaries, thefts, home invasions, and terrorizing, bomb threats to schools where we had to lock down the schools and send a SWAT team over to clear for what could be something,” Couvillon said. “Vermilion Parish, as long as well as seven other parishes, we’re all working to try to solve this problem because the house arrest and the ankle bracelets are not working.”

New Iberia man killed in Abbeville shooting Thursday night

The sheriff said the shooting where a 16-year-old boy is accused of killing a 19-year-old shows that ankle monitors and house arrests do not have much an effect on the the reduction of juvenile crimes.

“Now, this 16-year-old had an ankle bracelet where he left his home and he went and he killed somebody. It’s not working,” he said. “That’s just like when somebody gets a sentence of house arrest when they were dealing drugs out of their house. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

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Couvillon said the parish needs a juvenile detention center to house these juveniles. He said it costs $200-$250 a day to house a juvenile in jail, while an adult is $26.39 a day. News 10 was informed minors require care counseling programs, and there is a low staff-to-inmate ratio of supervision as well as other things that play a part.

“Letting people out early to save money is not a way to stop crime,” Couvillon said. “A child needs to see what’s going to happen to him if he does commit a crime.”

Couvillon suggested having speakers so juveniles can hear what it is like in prison from an inmate that’s serving life sentences.

“If they could come and talk to these kids and tell them that they need to change their ways or they end up like them,” Couvillon said.

“Kids have to see that it’s not the future for them,” he added.

Couvillon also said parents need to be parents.

“The adults know that the juveniles don’t have the same standards of sentences. So they encourage the juveniles to do the crimes while they sit back and read the benefits,” he said.

Couvillon suggested looking into legislation on what can be changed involving criminal reform.

The shooting investigation is still active and more arrests are possible. If you have any information contact the authorities.

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