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About the Sheriff
|  | The Louisiana Constitution defines the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer of the Parish. As Sheriff of Lafayette Parish, Mike Neustrom manages an organization that consists of approximately 500 dedicated employees. The Corrections Division operates the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center that houses male and female inmates within a five story, 718-bed main facility and a one story, 96-bed annex. The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office provides complete law enforcement services, patrol, dispatch and criminal investigation for all residents of Lafayette Parish – however in order to not duplicate services provided by other agencies, our primary enforcement areas are the unincorporated areas of the Parish. Our Communications Center provides dispatch communication services for the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office and the police departments for the towns of Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Scott and Youngsville. Sheriff Neustrom also shares leadership responsibilities with the Lafayette Chief of Police for two metropolitan or metro units, Metro Narcotics and Metro Forensics, which combine the resources of the Lafayette City Police Department and the Lafayette Sheriff's Office. The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office provides civil process for the district courts and operates a criminal warrant division that is designed to apprehend wanted felons.
| The Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), and the American Correctional Association (ACA) for the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. Sheriff Neustrom grew up in New Iberia where he attended Catholic High School. He has lived in Lafayette Parish since he enrolled at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1965 to pursue academic studies on an athletic scholarship. He graduated from USL in 1970 with a B.S. Degree in Sociology. Sheriff Neustrom served as Director of University Police from 1970 to 1974 before leaving to further his education. He obtained his Masters in Police Science and his Doctorate in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. From 1977 until his election in 2000 he served as a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Louisiana Lafayette (formerly University of Southwestern Louisiana) and Director of the Acadiana Law Enforcement Training Academy, a regional police training facility, which provides basic law enforcement training to an 8-parish area. He has also served on the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. He has received executive development training from the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Quantico, Virginia. Sheriff Neustrom has been involved in a number of community activities including serving as the President of the Board of Directors of St. Joseph Diner, President of Acadiana Youth, Inc. as well as coaching numerous youth athletic teams.
He and his wife, Cecilia "Ceci" O'Keefe Neustrom, have been married thirty-six years and live in Lafayette. Their six children attended public and parochial schools. Two have received degrees from the University of Louisiana, one from LSU, and several are currently enrolled at ULL. Back to Top
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