BATON ROUGE – A ticket-writing agreement between local agencies and State Police has been suspended amid a State Police-led criminal investigation regarding possible payroll fraud in another area of Louisiana.

In Iberville, West Feliciana, East Feliciana and Livingston parishes, State Police are hired to help deter traffic violators by writing tickets. Local agencies pay the overtime and mileage on State Police vehicles. Local agencies collect the fines.

Troop L is also involved where troopers participate in the program in Tangipahoa Parish. 

Media in New Orleans raised questions about how troopers in that area were involved and State Police responded with an investigation and a suspension of the program. A few troopers in the New Orleans area were put on leave, the state said in a statement to WBRZ Wednesday.

But, the alleged wrongdoing there has had an impact locally – where State Police has temporarily ended its deal with those four area parishes in providing extra traffic enforcement.

The program, Local Agency Compensation Enforcement – or L.A.C.E., was the focus of an April 2010 state investigation by the Office of Inspector General which questioned overtime and other record-keeping related to the program.

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