Steve Prator

Stephen Wayne Prator Sr. (born September 25, 1951)[1] is the first Republican since Reconstruction to serve as sheriff of Caddo Parish in far northwestern Louisiana.

Steve Prator
Sheriff of Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Assumed office
July 1, 2000
Preceded byDon Hathaway
Personal details
Born
Stephen Wayne Prator Sr.

(1951-09-25) September 25, 1951
Clarksville, Tennessee, USA
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Carolyn Craig Prator
Children3
ResidenceShreveport, Louisiana
Alma materLouisiana State University

FBI National Executive Institute

Louisiana State University
OccupationLaw-enforcement officer since 1973

He was elected to a sixth term as sheriff in the nonpartisan blanket primary on October 12, 2019.[2]

Background

The son of Sheldon Perry Prator (1926–2001), Prator's paternal roots are in Cass County, in east Texas. His grandparents were Joseph Bell Prator (1893–1962) and the former Erne Ruth Simpson (1896–1990). He has a brother, David Perry Prator of Kingwood, Texas. He is married to the former Carolyn Craig and has three children.[3] He was born in Clarksville in Montgomery County in northern Tennessee.[4]

Prator received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Louisiana State University Shreveport. He also graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Executive Institute in Quantico, Virginia. He attended basic police academy at LSU in Baton Rouge.[5]

Career

In 1973, Prator became a Shreveport police officer. In 1990, Hazel Beard, the first Republican mayor of Shreveport since Reconstruction, named Prator chief of police, an appointive position.[6] In 1999, he stepped down as police chief to run for sheriff, when the incumbent Don Hathaway did not seek a sixth four-year in office. Prator was elected to the first of his thus far four terms in that position. In that first campaign, Prator led with 37,739 votes (70.5 percent), compared to 13,858 (25.9 percent) for the Democrat Marshall W. Nelson, and 1,921 votes (3.6 percent) for the No-Party candidate, Robert N. Creamer.[7] Creamer also ran against Prator in 2003.[8]

Prator's term began on July 1, 2000, when Don Hathaway retired after twenty years as sheriff. Upon taking office, Prator streamlined certain operations and saved $3 million in expenses. Prator introduced "community-oriented policing" and developed a network of volunteer programs. He opened the first centers to deal with juvenile truancy, including a temporary holding facility.[5] He supported the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in public schools, which Hathaway had first instituted in Shreveport.[9] Prator established bicycle patrols, neighborhood watch teams, and a drug interdiction unit. He developed a work-release program for inmates at the Caddo Correctional Center.[5]

Prator is a member of the Louisiana Sheriff's Association, Cops for Christ, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.[5] He was named in 2008, along with his then colleague, Larry Deen, former sheriff of Bossier Parish, to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, a multi-agency program.[10] Prator is active in the Louisiana State Fair Board, the LSUS Foundation, and the Norwela Council of the Boy Scouts of America.[4]

Prator was instrumental in the establishment of "Safety Town" located between Walker Road and Jewella Avenue near the South Park Summer Grove Baptist Church. "Safety Town" teaches children how to avoid danger and how to protect their own safety. Bob Griffin of KTBS-TV and KEEL (AM) has worked with Prator to promote the project.[11][12]

In 2014, Prator launched a program to train children between eight and twelve years of age in gun safety. The course is taught at a gun safety camp sponsored by the sheriff's department.[13]

In the election held on October 22, 2011, Prator defeated the Democratic candidate, Craig Smith, 37,799 (78.7 percent) to 10,216 (21.3 percent). Robert Creamer did not file for the position though he had indicated that he had planned to do so.[14]

On July 1, 2014, Prator took on the role of director of the Caddo Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, a state agency responsible for disaster and emergency preparedness and response efforts. Previously Caddo and Bossier parishes had operated a mutual Homeland Security office, but Bossier Parish elected to establish its own facility. The sheriff's office will fund the Homeland Security office for Caddo Parish.[15]

Prator won a fifth term as sheriff in the primary election held on October 24, 2015. He defeated the Democrat Eric Hatfield, 37,112 votes (73.2 percent) to 13,561 (26.8 percent).[16]

Prator drew criticism for holding a press conference on October 5, 2017[17] in which he complained that new legislation aimed at reducing the prison population would harm his office's bottom line by causing the system to lose "the ones you can work". One of the critics of the sheriff's comments was ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie Esman, who said in a release, "Jails are not supposed to incarcerate people just because they need work done - that is slavery".[18]

gollark: Well, I broke it horribly, thus problems.
gollark: Bee it?
gollark: test?
gollark: Yes, YOU.
gollark: Containing bees.

References
  1. "Click Stephen Prator, September 1951". voterportal.sos.la.gov. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  2. "Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator wins sixth consecutive term". ktbs.com. October 12, 2019.
  3. "Shelton Perry Prator". wadeprater.com. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  4. "Louis R. Avallone, "This Month's Meeting"" (PDF). The Caddo Republican, Vol. 17, Edit. 4 (April 2012). Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  5. "Prator: Caddo Sheriff". steveprator.org. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  6. Sullivan, Stacey V.; Burton, Larry (1991-04-09). "Prator named police chief". The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana).
  7. "Primary election returns, October 23, 1999". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  8. Adam Duvernay, "Prator's 10th anniversary", Shreveport Times, July 25, 2011
  9. "D.A.R.E." caddosheriff.org. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  10. "Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Appointments to the Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, March 4, 2008". gov.louisiana.gov. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  11. "Sheriff's Safety Town - Shreveport". sheriffssafetytown.org. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  12. "Bob Griffin". KTBS-TV. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  13. Annie Andersen (June 17, 2014). "Sheriff's office teaches gun safety to young campers". KMSS-TV. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  14. "Primary election returns, October 22, 2011". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  15. Alexandria Burris (June 16, 2014). "Steve Prator to lead new Homeland Security Office". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  16. "Results for Election Date: 10/24/2015". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  17. "Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator holding a press conference this morning to discuss the impact of the Justice Reinvestment Act on Caddo". KTBS 3 News. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  18. "Sheriff: Louisiana's early release of prisoners means loss of 'the ones you can work'". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
Preceded by
Don Hathaway		 Sheriff of Caddo Parish, Louisiana

Stephen Wayne Prator Sr.
2000–

Succeeded by
Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.