St. Tammany Sheriff Randy Smith and 3rd District Captain John Evans hosted a grand opening Thursday (April 18) at the new 3rd District Criminal Patrol Station.
Joined by his administrative staff, Sheriff Smith cut the ribbon on the 5,500 square foot building.
The new station is located just off Highway 21 behind the Covington Target, which is near the exit/entrance ramps to Interstate 12. This location reinforces Sheriff Smith’s promise to improve response times, centralize manpower and increase visibility in the community as St. Tammany Parish continues to grow in both population and the number of commercial businesses.
In March 2022, Sheriff Smith announced the restructuring of patrol districts and the addition of a patrol district, increasing the number of patrol districts from three to four. Not long after, Sheriff Smith also announced the purchase of the property at 16189 E. Brewster Road, Covington and began the process of advertising for bids for the construction of the new permanent 3rd District Station.
The 3rd district stretches from the Tchefuncte River west to the Tangipahoa Parish line and is home to approximately 54,000 residents and averages 1,600 calls to service each month. In addition to the 29 patrol deputies, 2 traffic deputies and 2 special operations deputies, the new station will also house property crimes investigators and representatives from the agency’s Crisis Intervention Team. There will be a desk deputy on duty during the day Monday through Friday to handle walk-in complaints and to take reports.
On the east end of the parish, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has purchased a building on Oak Harbor Boulevard to serve as the new 1st District Station. A contract has been awarded and renovations on that 13,000 square foot building are expected to be completed before the end of the year. The move to the new 1st District office will free up space at the agency’s building on Brownswitch Road to house the Training Division. This will allow the Sheriff’s Office to vacate the aging Pearl River Training Facility, a more than 80-year-old former school owned by the school system.
