Watch: Breakfast Briefing with Orleans Parish Sheriff Michelle Woodfork

On September 9, BGR welcomed Orleans Parish Sheriff Michelle Woodfork for a Breakfast Briefing on the challenges and opportunities facing the jail, including safety, staffing, the federal consent decree, overcrowding, and plans for the new mental health and medical facility.

Below you’ll find the full video and key moments from the conversation.

The event was made possible through the generous sponsorship of First Horizon Bank and was broadcast on WWNO.

Video

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Highlights

1. Sheriff Woodfork believes the jail can exit the federal consent decree within a year.

Woodfork said her administration is taking a methodical approach to achieving compliance, including hiring a compliance director and bringing in former Louisiana Department of Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc to help guide reform efforts.

Watch:

(5:05) Compliance efforts and hiring Jimmy LeBlanc
(7:01) Can the consent decree end within a year?

2. Overcrowding remains one of the jail’s biggest challenges.

The jail population currently exceeds the level for which the facility was designed. Woodfork said reducing the population will require coordination among judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Corrections.

Watch:

(9:47) Jail overcrowding and population reduction strategies
(34:27) Using data to reduce jail population

3. BGR’s The Keys to the Jail report continues to shape the conversation.

Woodfork praised BGR’s 2022 report, The Keys to the Jail, and said she used it extensively while preparing to run for sheriff. She described the report as “a guide to success” and said she continues to rely on its recommendations as her administration works to address longstanding challenges at the jail.

Watch:

(15:33) BGR’s The Keys to the Jail report and its recommendations
(16:05) Multi-year planning and coordination among justice system partners

4. Staffing, training, and recruitment are top priorities.

Woodfork repeatedly returned to the need for better training and additional personnel. She discussed efforts to recruit former employees back to the Sheriff’s Office, improve deputy training, and develop long-term staffing and compensation plans.

Watch:

(19:52) Workforce challenges: staffing, compensation, and training
(22:05) Recruiting and retaining deputies

5. Security upgrades and infrastructure improvements are underway.

The conversation covered efforts to address contraband, improve supervision, replace malfunctioning locks, upgrade technology systems, and strengthen physical security throughout the facility.

Watch:

(26:46) Contraband, weapons, and jail security
(30:01) Facility upgrades and lock replacement project

6. The new mental health and medical facility could open this fall.

Woodfork said the long-awaited facility is expected to open later this year and will play a major role in improving care for inmates with acute mental health needs while helping the jail meet federal requirements.

Watch: