West Monroe Residents Concerned With Work Release Facility

People in West Monroe are upset at Ouachita Parish Sheriff Royce Toney. That’s because he's about to put a work release facility and patrol division in the Ridgedale neighborhood. Sheriff Royce Toney says he bought the old Ridgedale School to keep the streets safe and save tax payer dollars. People in the neighborhood say they don't want the new sheriff's facility because they say it will only create more problems. This former school once known as Ridgedale Academy challenged young minds. Now Ouachita Parish Sheriff Royce Toney wants to give the building a facelift and turn it into a work release facility and patrol division. "I can't put them in pink underwear; I can't put them in tents no purpose in that, I put them to work,” said Sheriff Toney. Soon, more than 180 work release inmates will be moving in to this building to live. Over 120 sheriff deputies will be working from here and supervising the inmates, but neighbors are concerned. "I didn't know we had any crime in our neighborhood maybe I'm oblivious,” said Ridgedale Resident Fred Hamel. Sheriff Royce Toney says this old Ridgedale School building has been closed for 20 years. He says since then it’s been burglarized and even vandalized as evidenced by the graffiti spelling out a racist organization. "It sure as heck can't go down in value, this is a disaster here,” said Sheriff Toney. Many like Debbie Jameson, say adding more inmates means adding fear that crime will increase in the neighborhood. She points to work release inmates who were charged with killing a man in Florida earlier this year. "My 9-year old grandchild is scared to go to the bus stop. Someone on work release killed somebody. They were supposed to be watching that person,” said Jameson. Sheriff Toney says residents have nothing to worry about. In fact, he says the inmates already work in up to 100 businesses in Northeast Louisiana. Deputies take them to work and back to a supervised facility at night. "You have a minimum time left, you've got to be non-violent. We have rules, if you break them you go back to DOC,” said Sheriff Toney. Still others worry about property values once work release inmates move in. " You show me your statistics,” said Ridgedale Resident Alice Prophit. “I'll show you in two years and you'll see,” said Sheriff Toney. “ Show me the data now,” said Prophit. “Ma’am you show me the opposite you can't do it,” said Sheriff Toney. The sheriff says the patrol division will keep the community even more safe and generate dollars from inmates who pay part of their income back to the sheriff's office. The sheriff says his department purchased the building and the 14 acres it sits on for just $188 thousand. He says the work release inmates must pay the department to stay in the facility. Toney says he hopes to have the facility running in the next six to seven months.