NEW ORLEANS — It’s an environment we don’t normally see Sheriff Newell Normand in, and after more than 40 years in law enforcement and the past 10 as sheriff, we got a chance to get out on the water and talk about some of the innovative things the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office does to help better serve and protect.

“I encourage people in my organization to get involved in the not-for-profit world, so that they can get a sense of what’s really going on. Because if we’re going to deliver law enforcement services with empathy and sympathy and a high level of intellect, it can’t just be what you know from within the organization. You can’t just organically grow; you’ve got to grow externally as well,” Sheriff Normand says.

The sheriff also told us that among the challenges of running a modern law enforcement organization is the public’s demand for fast answers.

“People want information, and they want it really quick, and just because you get quick information doesn’t mean that it’s valid information,” he says. “So it’s trying to point out the obvious to folks that even when everything goes perfectly in this business there’s still possible negative outcomes to it.”

Our set today is Lake Pontchartrain, and it turns out the sheriff is no stranger to the outdoors.

“I hunt and and I fish a lot like my predecessor (Harry Lee). It’s probably one of the reasons that we worked so closely together. We kinda enjoyed the same hobbies,”  Normand says.

Gone Fishing with LBJ is sponsored by Metro Boating.