Two Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies played key roles in a statewide corrections certification course last week, helping train law enforcement leaders from across Louisiana.
Deputy Jeremy Haas and Capt. Joel Thomas served as instructors for the 2025 Louisiana POST corrections certification class, held at the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. Haas, the lead Master Instructor, and Thomas worked alongside instructors from Lafayette and Livingston parishes to guide participants through the intensive two-week program.
The course focused on preparing correctional leaders for the challenges of supervising staff, hiring and retention, navigating generational differences in the workforce, and making the transition from peer to supervisor.
“This isn’t just a class where you show up and get a certificate,” Haas said. “It is two weeks of learning to teach adults. Students are in class for ten to twelve hours a day. They have a 20-page lesson plan that must be turned in at the halfway point, and they spend hours with me and the other Master Instructors doing teach-backs of the lessons we have been responsible for keeping current for the past ten to fifteen years.”
Haas emphasized the significance of the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office’s involvement in the training program, saying he was “ … excited that the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office could lead the way for Louisiana POST training, with me and Joel Thomas there to help teach and guide students for the full two-week course.”
Sheriff Jason Parker praised the deputies for their role in the program.
“It’s an honor to be asked to teach a certification class, and their selection as instructors shows how well respected they are among other sheriff’s offices in the state,” Parker said. “They deserve the praise they have received for their knowledge and hard work.”