08/14/2026
Mayor Mike Stephens and the Gilbert Village Council executed an agreement with the Franklin Parish Sheriff's Office to provide law enforcement services for the Village of Gilbert.
Mayor Stephens stated, "I am excited the Village of Gilbert and the Franklin Parish Sheriff's Office were able to work together to come up with a solution for the betterment of the people of Gilbert."
Agreements like this are not a new idea. Many other agencies throughout the state and country are facing difficulties in hiring and keeping trained law enforcement officers. In Louisiana, law enforcement training is administered through the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement by the Louisiana Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. For a law enforcement officer to obtain Level One POST Certification, Certification for Basic Law Enforcement Peace Officers, the peace officer must complete a training course with a minimum of 496 hours required for certification. Level 1 certification also requires that the peace officer meet the POST requirements for fi****ms qualification.
For a Village like Gilbert, it is near impossible to budget for that training cost, and pay the officer for the four months they are at training that occurs over 50 miles away. What is even more difficult, is that nothing prevents that officer, upon obtaining the training from taking a job with another agency for more money, days after completing training.
With this agreement, the Sheriff's Office will utilize existing POST Certified Deputies and schedule them for shifts in Gilbert. Sheriff Bryan Linder stated, "I am excited for this partnership with Gilbert. This is very similar to what the Sheriff's Office previously did in the Town of Winnsboro. It worked then and we believe it will work well again"
A key part of why this works is the Village will save money on fuel, vehicle maintenance, many layers of expensive insurance, and other related costs, all the while having access to a larger pool of certified deputies.
The Sheriff's Office will handle scheduling the deputies to assigned shifts. Sheriff Linder also stated, "As calls come in, any time 24 hours a day, if a deputy is not on specific detail in Gilbert, the Sheriff's Office will dispatch a deputy to the call."
Members of the Council stated, "For the past several months we as a council have had many conversations and three council meetings to discuss the best way to provide additional law enforcement services, all while striving to maintain a fiscally balanced budget in Gilbert. We are excited to see the additional presence to serve the people of Gilbert."
Gilbert and the Sheriff's Office are excited to deploy this agreement and are committed to working together to make this work in the best way for the people who live, work, shop and travel through Gilbert.
