Government watchdog BGR issues recommendations to improve Orleans Parish jail operations; Sen. Cassidy weighs in on escape
By Sabrina Wilson
Source: FOX 8
May 20, 2025
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Amid the search for the remaining New Orleans jail escapees, a government watchdog released a new report urging the sheriff and the city to work together to address the jail’s needs.
“The key to understand the backdrop of the jail escapes on Friday is that this situation, the relationship between the city and the jail, is teed up for ineffectiveness and terrible outcomes. And that’s why we’ve been under a consent decree,” said BGR president and CEO Rebecca Mowbray.
The report says, “Public outrage over the brazen escape of 10 men … is a clarion call for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the City of New Orleans to squarely face chronic problems plaguing the jail.”
Several recommendations are listed in the report:
- Develop a multi-year strategic plan for the New Orleans jail
- Establish a standard process and documentation for developing and approving the jail’s annual operating and capital budgets
- Develop a compensation strategy for jail deputies and other employees
- Develop a standard process for the city administration to review the sheriff’s annual budget proposal
- Provide more meaningful data and accountability from the sheriff’s office at the joint quarterly public meetings held by the City Council
“I hope that the city and the sheriff take these recommendations seriously. And I hope that they sit down quietly and talk about these things. What information does the city council need to increase its confidence in, you know, in the needs of the jail?” Mowbray said.
Mowbray said she thought trust has been broken.
“How could it not be? I mean, the minimum job of a sheriff and the jail is to keep detainees locked up, keep them safe while they’re in custody,” Mowbray said.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) also reacted to the escapes during his weekly call with reporters.
“Obviously, shouldn’t have happened and I want to thank the officers (involved in the search),” Cassidy said.
Besides Louisiana State Police troopers and NOPD officers, federal agents are assisting the search for the remaining escapees.
“Local law enforcement is obviously responsible for local crime,” Cassidy said. “The federal government can help, though, and I have explored a variety of ways in which the federal government can further support local and state law enforcement in making our streets safer.”
Cassidy was non-committal when asked about calls for Sheriff Susan Hutson to resign.
“I think that you have to investigate,” he said. “It’s easy to find a fall person who’s the most prominent. I think you actually find out — and I don’t know this yet, maybe somebody does — what were the circumstances regarding the release?
“Sometimes there’s negligence on the behalf of the person who’s most in charge. And sometimes there’s corruption way down the kind of organizational chart, which would have been hard to understand and may have even been deliberately hidden from the person most in charge. So, let’s figure that out before we start deciding what to do next. If someone already knows that, then I retract my statement. But I don’t know that, personally.”
Fair Use Notice
This site occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues and to highlight the accomplishments of our affiliates. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is available without profit. For more information go to: US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.