Plaquemines Parish Police Blotter

The Plaquemines Parish police blotter covers incident reports, arrest logs, and public safety records kept by the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office in Belle Chasse. This page explains how to contact the Sheriff's Office, what records are available, and where state-level resources can fill gaps in what the local agency holds.

Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office

The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich, Jr., is located at 302 Main Street, Belle Chasse, LA 70037. The non-emergency line is 504-564-2525 and the fax number is 504-433-2656. The agency handles patrol, civil process, and records for this long, narrow parish that stretches south along the Mississippi River from the New Orleans area to the Gulf of Mexico. For records requests, contact the Sheriff's Office directly by phone or in writing.

The LSP background checks page at lsp.org/services/background-checks provides access to statewide criminal history records that supplement what the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office holds locally. If you need a broader criminal history than one parish alone covers, the state-level background check is the right tool.

LSP background checks cover criminal history data from all Louisiana parishes, giving a more complete picture than a single parish records request when the person you are researching may have activity across the state.

Under La. R.S. § 44:31, any adult has the right to inspect or copy public records held by a Louisiana government agency. The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office must respond to written requests within three business days under La. R.S. § 44:32. Any denial must come in writing with a specific legal reason. Active investigation records may be withheld under La. R.S. § 44:3 until the investigation is complete.

Records Available from the Sheriff's Office

The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office maintains several categories of public records. Incident reports document calls for service, crimes reported, and deputy responses across the parish. Arrest records show booking details including the charges, date of booking, and bond status. Traffic crash reports for crashes investigated by Sheriff's deputies are also available through the records division.

Plaquemines Parish covers a large geographic area, much of it rural or industrial, and the Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency across most of it. There is no separate municipal police department covering Belle Chasse or most other communities in the parish; the Sheriff's Office handles those areas. That means most police blotter records for the parish come from one source, which simplifies the request process compared to urban parishes where multiple agencies maintain separate records.

The Plaquemines Parish Detention Center at 110 Prison Road, Braithwaite, LA 70040, can be reached at 504-934-7602 for questions about current inmate custody status. If you want to know whether someone is in custody in Plaquemines Parish, call the Detention Center directly rather than the main Sheriff's number. Booking records from the Detention Center are public once the booking is complete.

Note: If you need to pay a fee online for a court-related matter or other Sheriff's Office service, the office uses nCourt for some online payments. Ask the office whether your specific fee type is payable through the nCourt system when you submit your request.

How to Request Records

Contact the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office directly to get police blotter records. Call 504-564-2525 during business hours or send a written request by mail to 302 Main Street, Belle Chasse, LA 70037. Written requests are preferred because they create a clear paper trail and give the office something to act on without a follow-up call.

In your written request, include your name, the type of record you need, the date or date range, and any identifying details like a case number or the names of those involved. The more specific you are, the faster the office can locate the record. If you are requesting records about yourself, include a copy of a valid ID with your request. For records about other people, state your purpose if you have one, though most public records are available without a specific reason under Louisiana law.

Copy fees follow standard Louisiana rates. Paper copies run between $0.25 and $1.00 per page. Certified copies carry an additional fee. Ask about payment methods when you submit your request, as rural sheriff's offices often prefer cash or money order for in-person and mail payments. The office will tell you the total cost before they release the records, so you will know what to send before you pay.

If your request is denied, the denial must be in writing with a specific legal reason. You can challenge an improper denial in district court. The Louisiana State Archives at lsa.org can help you understand the appeal process and your rights under Louisiana's public records law.

State and Additional Resources

Louisiana State Police provides resources that extend beyond what any single parish holds. The background check service at lsp.org/services/background-checks covers all parishes and is the best tool when you need a complete statewide criminal history. The LSP forms page at lsp.org/forms lists forms for state-level records including crash reports and criminal history requests.

Crash reports from crashes involving LSP troopers in Plaquemines Parish are handled through LSP rather than the local Sheriff's Office. Under La. R.S. § 32:398, those reports are available to involved parties once the investigation wraps up. If a state trooper was the primary responding officer, start your crash report request with LSP, not the parish office.

The Louisiana State Archives at lsa.org is a resource for older or archived records and for guidance when you run into obstacles at the parish level. If the Sheriff's Office does not respond within three business days, or if a denial seems improper, the Archives can point you toward the right next step, which may include filing a complaint or pursuing a legal challenge.

Nearby Parishes

Plaquemines Parish is at the southern tip of Louisiana and shares borders with a small number of other parishes in the greater New Orleans area.