LAPLACE — The traffic enforcement stalemate between St. John the Baptist Parish’s District Attorney and Sheriff is over.

Those leaders said a series of meetings this month led to the crucial program’s reintroduction. Contention between law enforcement and some members within the court system began when Sheriff Mike Tregre suspended the Local Agency Compensated Enforcement (or L.A.C.E.) in the summer of 2016.

Under the program, the District Attorney’s office funds overtime traffic enforcement patrol details that generate funds for the criminal justice system through fees and fines.

Dinvaut said Tregre strongly indicated his commitment to the program and all criminal justice partners during meetings March 10 and 14.

“The only thing I am concerned about is his sincere commitment to the program and not a commitment to frustrate the program,” Dinvaut said. “I have been satisfied with that.”

Tregre said patrols would cap at two deputies per shift and be relegated to daylight hours and concentrate on Airline Highway, U.S. 51, Belle Terre Boulevard and Interstate 10, as well as River Roads on both banks. On Monday, the sheriff said selected subdivision enforcement is included.

“Officer safety is first,” Tregre said. “It looks like everybody understood what I’m trying to do. The program started Monday. It’s win-win all the way around.”

According to the sheriff, more than 60 tickets were written Monday.

Dinvaut said the District Attorney’s Office would fully fund the shifts’ payroll expenses and continue to split the revenue generated “with all criminal justice partners in order to make sure we can build and improve upon the criminal justice system we have now.”

The program operated between February 2015 and July 2016, the D.A. said.

“I did say to the Sheriff I was willing to pay the officers $45 instead of $40 (an hour) since they are the ones putting their lives on the line and taking time away from their families,” Dinvaut said. “I felt like if any additional money was going to be expended, it should go to those people who are actually doing the work on the ground.”

According to Dinvaut, a new agreement was not signed and the entities are operating under the same arrangement that began in February 2015 as a 5-year agreement.

L.A.C.E.

Dinvaut previously said she was made aware of a criminal court fund deficit of more than $280,000 shortly after taking office two years ago. To combat the issue she said the District Attorney’s office signed L.A.C.E. agreements with Louisiana State Police and the Sheriff’s Office to fund extra details where officers focus on traffic enforcement, primarily on Interstate 10 and Interstate 55.

A portion of the fees and fines paid by the resulting traffic offenders helps fund numerous aspects of the criminal court system.

The traffic enforcement shifts are operated in addition to deputies’ regular shifts.

St. John Clerk of Court Eliana DeFrancesch previously said her office logged an average of more than 1,900 monthly traffic citations from March through June 2016 from the Sheriff’s Office and the State Police.

The citations dropped to under 1,600 in July, when the program was suspended. Citations fell to 1,017 in August when only the State Police participated in L.A.C.E.

Tregre said he does not know how the system started to depend so greatly on traffic tickets for projected revenue, but added it puts a “tremendous burden” on the Sheriff’s Office.

Richard Stricks, who leads the Public Defenders Office, told L’OBSERVATEUR the lack of L.A.C.E. revenue cost his department tens of thousands of dollars in operating revenue. He cited the reduced revenue as factors in his recent loss of some staffers.

The Public Defenders Office includes court-appointed lawyers who work juvenile court, misdemeanor cases and felony cases where residents seek legal representation but cannot afford an attorney.