Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Announces Special Victims Unit

Published December 7, 2021

Lake Charles, LA – District Attorney Stephen Dwight announced the creation of the Special Victims Unit at the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office on December 7, 2021.
After noticing a continuous increase in domestic violence and sex crime cases in Calcasieu Parish over the last ten years, it became evident that victims of these crimes required specialized attention and care. Section Chief Hope Buford, who has the experience and specialization required for this role, leads the SVU team.

District Attorney Stephen Dwight said “We are constantly evaluating our office and seeing the areas that need improvement. The SVU team consists of team members that are specialized in Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes cases which will ensure that victims of these crimes are getting the attention and care needed to heal and navigate through the criminal justice system,” He continued by saying “It has always been my top priority to make sure victims of crime are getting the care they need, and with the SVU team, these victims will get just that. I want our office to be the best in everything we do, which is why we will be sending the team members of the SVU team across the country for specialized training.” D.A. Dwight ended with, “The SVU team has been a vision since before I took office, and after evaluating our team members and seeing their accomplishments, I am happy we were able to create the SVU team quicker than we thought we would.”

Featured image source: Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office. Featured in the image left to right are: Bureau Chief Ross Murray, SVU Section Chief Hope Buford, District Attorney Stephen Dwight, First Assistant District Attorney Jacob Johnson, Chief of Litigation Bobby Holmes, and Bureau Chief Charles Robinson.