The cost to house Lafayette Parish inmates outside the local jail surged last year as state inmates remained in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center longer than expected, limiting available beds and forcing parish detainees to be sent elsewhere.
Lafayette Consolidated Government spent $442,133 last year to house parish inmates in other jails — a 13,479% increase over 2024 spending levels, according to LCG documents obtained by the Acadiana Advocate. By early this month, the parish had already spent about $130,000 on outside housing, putting it on pace to meet or exceed last year’s total.
As of Feb. 5, 58 parish inmates were housed in other parish jails. At the peak in 2018, as many as 192 inmates were housed outside the Lafayette jail. Under Louisiana law, jails may transfer inmates for safety reasons, and the sheriff must notify the court of the intent to transfer at least 72 hours in advance. The sheriff’s office said it is trying to prevent the onset of unsafe conditions…