This report of the Caddo Parish Criminal Justice Task Force provides recommendations to reduce overcrowding in the Caddo Correctional Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.
This report by the Caddo Parish Criminal Justice Task Force, with the support of the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI), provides a series of recommendations designed to reduce severe and chronic overcrowding in the Caddo Correctional Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, by expanding pretrial release options, speeding up case processing, limiting inefficiencies in front-end processes, and investing in evidence-based strategies that promote public safety. The work of the Task Force demonstrates that the jail overcrowding issue cannot be addressed by one single change. Instead, it will take commitments from all justice partners to confront inefficiencies in each area of the system and work together towards meaningful change. Leaders in Caddo Parish, Shreveport, Louisiana, requested technical assistance through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) grant funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs. To oversee this effort, the Parish formed the Task Force, composed of representatives from key criminal justice agencies and partners in the Parish. The CJI analyzed and presented data provided with consultation by the respective agencies and collected qualitative data through interviews with criminal justice partners, including law enforcement, local government officials, detention staff, criminal court judges, attorneys, behavioral health practitioners, advocates for victims and survivors of crime, community-based organizations providing reentry-based programming, and individuals who were previously detained at the CCC. Chronic overcrowding has contributed to severe staffing shortages at the CCC, threats to safety for both staff and individuals in custody, Parish resource depletion, and substantial pressure on other parts of the system, including law enforcement agencies, district attorneys, public defenders, and the district court.