OPSO to move juvenile inmates out of New Orleans jail

The big picture: New Orleans' jail has struggled with overcrowding for years, routinely housing more inmates than the City Council-mandated cap of 1,250. On Wednesday, the jail population was pegged at 1,482, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office data.

• But while the New Orleans Police Department makes routine arrests, OPSO has only a handful of levers to pull to manage that population number.

Between the lines: Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law in 2024 requiring the state to treat 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system, which puts them into OPSO's care.

Yes, but: Legally, they can't be housed with adult inmates, so an entire, 60-person pod is dedicated to their care.

Zoom in: Speaking Wednesday at an event for the Bureau of Governmental Research, Woodfork said she's working with the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center to move the juvenile inmates into that facility instead.

• "We will keep them separate from the other juveniles that are at that facility, and of course, my staff will be in charge of supervising those inmates," she said.

What's next: Woodfork will meet Councilperson Freddie King, District Attorney Jason Williams and JJIC leadership this week to hammer out the logistics, OPSO spokesperson Keith Lampkin tells Axios New Orleans.