With gun violence and crime at the forefront of everyone’s minds lately, the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office isn’t resting on their laurels when it comes to reducing crime in Iberia Parish.

New Iberia is no stranger to gun crime. Statistics from the New Iberia Police Department show that in the first five months of 2022, they seized 62 firearms and investigated 10 shootings and four homicides. Iberia Parish’s numbers are significantly lower than inside the city itself, but cause for concern.

In the last year, Sheriff Thomas Romero reports that his department has seized 73 firearms, with most (85%) being confiscated in connection with drug crimes.

The types of firearms seized vary, but close to 70% are handguns. Romero said that his department doesn’t categorize them based on caliber or action type, but did admit that many were high capacity 9mm handguns. Perhaps the most disturbing statistic about these weapons relates to how criminals are getting their hands on the guns in the first place.

Of the 73 firearms collected by the Sheriff’s Office, 75% of them were stolen.

One of the easiest ways for criminals to arm themselves in Iberia Parish has been vehicle break ins. Since the beginning of 2022, there were 34 reported vehicle burglaries, and in 20 such instances the vehicle in question was unlocked. The burglaries have resulted in guns being stolen 13 times, with 9 thefts happening with unlocked vehicles.

Sheriff Romero said that he wants to remind everyone that while you have a right to own a firearm and store it in your vehicle, responsible gun ownership will go a long way to lessening the amount of dangerous interactions that law enforcement officers throughout the parish will have to deal with.

“As a responsible gun owner, I think that it is imperative that you secure your weapon,” he said. “I’m a pro-second amendment guy, but we need to take some responsibility. A lot of the time, the vehicles will get broken into because the gun is right there in plain view. We get a lot of reports where the vehicle wasn’t broken into, but we have video of people looking into vehicles and trying to find guns, credit cards, or purses.

“We have even seen video tapes where those people are arming themselves and walking under your garage, ready for any response you may bring. They’ll liable to shoot you. It isn’t many, but they are out there,” he added.

While the Sheriff’s Office has had success with recovering firearms used in crimes and matching them up with their rightful owners, Sheriff Romero said that the process can drag on for a while until the case is finished.

“If a firearm is stolen and the owner submits the serial number, we can make an arrest later and recover the firearm, but the weapon has to stay as evidence with the case until the case is adjudicated,” he said. “Once that’s done we contact the owner of the gun, but that can be a long time.”

For citizens who want to learn more about steps they can take to reduce the amount of firearms stolen in Iberia Parish, the Sheriff is set to produce a new segment on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page where he and his deputies discuss the proper way to store your guns to reduce theft.

“We have a video segment that we do on our Facebook page called ‘Help us help you’ and we’re getting ready to do one where we provide tips on how to be a responsible firearms owner and my deputies are going to go over not leaving their guns in their car,” Sheriff Romero said. “I can’t tell people what to do, but I think we need to be a little more reasonable because we know what’s out there. If you are going to get out of the car and take your purse into your home, take your gun with you. They still may break in anyway but at least the gun isn’t out on the street.”

Sheriff Romero said that his deputies have often been dealing with weapons that hold more rounds than guns of the past, but added that any weapon can potentially take a life.

“For handguns, which is what the majority of the guns involved are, they are high capacity 9mm weapons like Glocks and Sigs,” he said. “We do get revolvers too, and they can kill you just as easily as anything else. High capacity or not, it just takes one shot to kill you.”

In light of the increased threat from firearms, the Sheriff has taken steps to improve the safety of his deputies. Body armor has long been required equipment, but as improvements allow armor to defeat more and more types of projectiles, Sheriff Romero said that he is working hard to get everyone equipped with level IV armor. Currently, only SWAT is equipped with this type of protection, but the goal is to have everyone protected as soon as possible.

Sheriff Romero also has worked to make sure that his deputies are never outgunned. The transition to 9mm service weapons has increased the amount of ammunition that deputies can carry, but they are also given opportunities to train with and carry patrol rifles to give themselves the best tactical advantage against criminals armed with similar types of weapons.