I endorse the 2021 New Orleans Sheriff Platform. This platform (listed and categorized by key issue areas below) is focused on providing a clear outline of what we as directly-impacted community members, taxpayers, criminal legal experts, and/or residents of the City of New Orleans demand from the Orleans Parish sheriff.

The 2021 New Orleans Sheriff Platform is outlined below:

Area 1: New Orleanians deserve a sheriff who will listen to the community and implement best practices.

1.01:
The Sheriff will commit to promoting community safety and decreasing recidivism by working with community-based organizations best equipped to assist incarcerated individuals with access to their defense counsel by providing sufficient, adequate, and timely visitation amenities.

Area 2: Promote alternatives to incarceration through community collaboration.

2.01:
No jail expansion. The sheriff will refuse to build the Phase III psychiatric jail and commit to diverting people with mental illness from the criminal legal system. A $51 million psychiatric jail is a waste of taxpayer funds. Tax dollars should be divested to community-based programs that support people with mental illness, and mitigate harm.

2.02:
I.C.E. has no place in New Orleans. The sheriff will refuse to cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (I.C.E).

Area 3: Prioritize families, community wellness, and justice for those harmed.

3.01:
End solitary confinement and long-term administrative segregation. The sheriff will end the inhumane practices of solitary confinement and long-term administrative segregation. Solitary confinement is inhumane as it results in deprivation of light, exercise, visitation, clothing, mattresses, and sometimes even food. This practice must end now.

3.02:
People in OPP deserve visitation & representation. The sheriff will ensure that the 6th Amendment right to counsel shall not be infringed and ensure people are allowed full and free access to confidential communication with their attorney, both through visitation and telephone. This right shall apply whether the communication is initiated by the person held in OPSO custody or by the attorney.

3.03:
The sheriff will ensure families, friends, advocates, and social services have access to free phone calls and other telecommunications, as this is essential for a person to defend themselves against allegations, and the right to present a defense is guaranteed under the 5th and 6th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, these communications are essential for people’s mental health, family unity, economic stability, and planning for release.

3.04:
The sheriff will never ban in-person visitation, regardless of technological advances such as video visitation. Video visits and video court may serve as an added convenience, however, the subject of incarceration and due process should never be so dehumanized as to be done remotely.

3.05:
Community involvement makes everyone safer. The sheriff will, in conjunction with outside experts and community-based organizations, implement a peer support group specifically focused on suicide prevention, as fellow incarcerated people are in the best position to prevent another leading cause of deaths in jails.

3.06:
Humane release, re-entry support, and an end to over detention. The sheriff will commit to developing release policies that mitigate harm and recidivism. This includes a timely discharge process that allows a person to be released as quickly after the judicial order as possible, which should be no more than two hours. The sheriff will also ensure people are able to pay for or gain free access to, public transportation (when running) or another means of getting to a safe destination within the city.

3.07:
Safety and justice for transgender and gender-nonconforming people. The sheriff is committed to ensuring that transgender and gender-nonconforming people who are currently incarcerated are housed safely. This means a sheriff who supports TGNC individuals would permit them to be released on a promise-to-appear or transferred to house arrest for safety. When asked by a person detained, or their attorney, the sheriff shall provide information for the court that accounts for a person’s current conditions of confinement, and any safety concerns.

3.08:
The sheriff shall respect the right to privacy for individuals who have phone calls with an accused person. Their locations should not be tracked and their conversation should not be monitored with voice detection software.

3.09:
The sheriff will commit to providing high quality education for incarcerated young people aged 18-21 as required by state and federal law, by continuing to provide education through the Travis Hill Schools in collaboration with NOLA Public Schools.

3.10:
Survivor-centered approaches to restorative justice. The sheriff will allow and promote access to accountability and restorative processes provided by community organizations if a survivor, a victim’s loved one, or a family member would like to participate in them.

Area 4: Provide incarcerated people with adequate and competent care.

4.01:
The sheriff will commit to full medical evaluations of people newly entering the jail within 24 hours, by a registered nurse. During this time, pre-existing conditions and medications should be addressed, including any active treatments, to ensure a continuity of care amongst people under OPSO’s custody, care, and control. These evaluations shall also account for substance use and withdrawal. Follow-up protocols shall follow established standards of medical care.

4.02:
Incarcerated people will have daily access to sick calls and access to an RN or LPN. Security staff shall not perform medical intakes or evaluations. Standards of medical triage will be followed, including access to appropriate diagnostic testing, medical specialists, and follow-up care. Records shall be kept electronically, allowing for a continuity of care beyond the jail setting.

4.03:
The sheriff will commit to providing a full mental health evaluation within 24 hours of people newly entering the jail, by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. This evaluation will address pre-existing conditions, medications, and treatments, while also accounting for undiagnosed conditions, the present psychosocial situation of their lives, and the current conditions of confinement.

4.04:
The sheriff will implement a Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program to combat the deadly effects of the withdrawal of opiates, which is the leading cause of deaths in jails, typically occurring within the first 72 hours of confinement. The MAT program will also address withdrawal from alcohol.

Area 5: Commit to fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

5.01:
Fiscal accountability. The sheriff shall file an annual public report, readily accessible on the OPSO website to be read or downloaded, which includes: (1) data on numbers and demographics of people incarcerated, (2) criminal charges, (3) staffing, (4) itemized expenses, (5) deaths and their causes, (6) number and type of medical services provided, (7) number and type of disciplinary infractions, including actual punishments imposed, (8) training data, (9) itemized litigation expenses, (10) contracts for services, including, but not limited to, medical, mental health, food, maintenance, sanitation, and transportation, (11) number of incarcerated people working outside the jail, actual work performed, and any proceeds given in exchange for that work whether to OPSO, the City general fund, or the state.

5.02:
Training transparency. The sheriff commits to reallocate existing funds to provide adequate and culturally relevant training around de-escalation, racial equity, mental health, first-aid/medical, gender equity, and human rights. This commitment includes not inflating the overall budget.

5.03:
Considerate evictions and foreclosures. The sheriff will commit to crafting policies that mitigate the inherent harm of evictions, including clear and transparent schedules for when evictions are to take place. The sheriff will further commit to using already-allocated resources to adequately train staff on handling evictions in a competent and dignified manner.

Area 6: Stop criminalizing poor, Black people.

6.01:
The Sheriff will use their power and position in the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association to advocate for state-level policy that would put an end to policies that target and harm BIPOC communities.