Colonel John Doran

Special Investigations Responsibilities

The Special Investigations Division of the Sheriff’s Office is a 20-member team which includes the department’s Narcotics Unit, its Street Crimes Unit, employees assigned to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force and those assigned to the state H.I.D.T.A., High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force.

The Narcotics Unit deals with the suppression of narcotics activity in St. Bernard Parish, acting on informant information, undercover operations and follow-up investigations.
The Street Crimes Unit targets high crime areas, forwarding drug activity information to the Narcotics Unit for follow-up and assisting the sheriff’s patrol units as back-up responders.

SID members received the St. Bernard Kiwanis Club Life-Saver Award in January 2009 for their work in “Operation Driftwood,’’ which produced more than 30 federal and state court indictments of narcotics distributors.

Col. John Doran, a St. Bernard Parish native who is Chief of Detectives and a veteran of the Sheriff’s Office since 1986, was appointed commander of the Special Investigations Division in June. He also continues to head the Detective Bureau since 2003.

Doran is a former patrol deputy and sheriff’s detective and was previously commander of SID, as well as a graduate of the FBI National Academy and a member of the International Homicide Investigation Association. He also is a member of the sheriff’s SWAT team.