While crime and traffic are expected to increase as more people move into the Southwest Louisiana area to work on the announced multi-billion dollar industrial expansion projects, law enforcement agencies have not seen an uptick related to that growth, authorities said. “There’s always going to be a certain amount of undesirable population that’s going to prey on us,” said Commander Matt Vezinot with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office. “We haven’t seen a lot of that. (Agencies) haven’t seen a lot of calls for service that is directly dealing with the increase in population.” Vezinot gave the update last week during a public meeting hosted by the Southwest Louisiana Task Force for Growth and Opportunity, or Go Group. One anticipated issue that is already noticeable is traffic, especially maritime traffic impacting recreational boaters, Vezinot said. He said law enforcement and other agencies will work to make sure security zones around the industrial development have the least impact on boaters. “A lot of people from the industry side aren’t from here (and) don’t understand how big of a deal it is when you mess up the waterways around here,” Vezinot said. “But these are good problems to have.” He also spoke about concerns some residents have about facilities that would house temporary workers. Vezinot said he and other Sheriff’s Office officials traveled to similar facilities in Ft. McMurray in Alberta, Canada and near the Midland/Odessa area in Texas. “We asked (law enforcement) what problems they are having,” he said. “I can tell you we were surprised. The short answer is, when they’re managed very well, there is very little impact.” Vezinot said that while no living situation for temporary workers is perfect, it is “a solution for a problem” in the areas they visited. The Sheriff’s Office is part of the Go Group’s public safety subcommittee. Sheriff Tony Mancuso and Dick Gremillion, director of the Calcasieu Office of Emergency Preparedness, serve as chair of the subcommittee.
from American Press: Your Best News And Advertising Source - Home http://ift.tt/1DDSP3Z
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment