Steve Prator

Stephen Wayne Prator, Sr., known as Steve Prator (born c. 1951), is the first Republican since Reconstruction to serve as SHERIFF of Caddo Parish in far northwestern Louisiana.

The son of Sheldon Perry Prator (1926–2001), Prator's paternal roots are in Cass County, in east Texas. His grandparents were Joseph Bell Prator (1893–1962) and the former Erne Ruth Simpson (1896–1990). He has a brother, David Perry Prator of Kingwood, Texas. His children are Stephen Prator, Jr., Jon Joseph Prator, and Tracey Prator Cascio He was born in Tennessee.

Prator received a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He also graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Executive Institute in Quantico, Virginia. He attended basic police academy at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

In 1973, Prator became a Shreveport police officer. In 1990, Hazel Beard, the first Republican mayor of Shreveport since Reconstruction, named Prator chief of police, an appointive position. In 1999, he stepped down as police chief to run for sheriff and was elected to the first of his thus far four terms in that position. In that first campaign, Prator led with 37,739 votes (70.5 percent), compared to 13,858 (25.9 percent) for the Democrat Marshall W. Nelson, and 1,921 votes (3.6 percent) for the No-Party candidate, Robert N. Creamer. Creamer also ran against Prator in 2003.

Service as sheriff

Prator's term began on July 1, 2000. Upon taking office, Prator streamlined certain operations and saved $3 million in expenses. TPrator introduced "community-oriented policing" and developed a network of volunteer programs. He opened the first centers to deal with juvenile truancy He established a temporary holding facility . He supported the [...] Abuse Resistance Education program in public schools. Prator established bicycle patrols, neighborhood watch teams, and a [...] interdiction unit. He developed a work-release program for inmates at the Caddo Correctional Center.

Prator is a member of the Louisiana Sheriff's Association, Cops for Christ, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He was named by Governors Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice. He is also active in the Louisiana State Fair board, the LSUS Foundation, and the Norwela Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

In 2008, Prator ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives in a bid to succeed the retiring Republican Jim McCrery. However, the position went to another Republican, John C. Fleming, a physician from Minden. In his most recent election held on October 22, 2011, Prator defeated the Democratic candidate, Craig Smith, 37,799 (78.7 percent) to 10,216 (21.3 percent). Robert Creamer did not file for the position though he had indicated that he had planned to do so.