Lt. Colonel Val Penouilh
Deputy Superintendent - Bureau of Investigations
Biography Information
Lieutenant Colonel Val Penouilh was named Deputy Superintendent of the Bureau of Investigations by Colonel Michael Edmonson, State Police Superintendent on July 13, 2009. As the Deputy Superintendent of the Bureau of Investigations, LTC Penouilh oversees the operations of the Gaming Enforcement Division and the Criminal Investigations Division both operations encompassing over 500 commissioned troopers and civilian employees. The Gaming Enforcement Division is responsible for regulating all statutorily authorized forms of gaming including video poker, a land-based casino, river boat casinos, and Indian casinos. The Criminal Investigations Division includes personnel assigned to general criminal investigations and narcotics investigations, as well as others assigned to specialized investigative operations related to insurance fraud and motor vehicle theft. Criminal intelligence activities are carried out by all division personnel and are centralized in a Baton Rouge based intelligence fusion center.
LTC Penouilh began his law enforcement career in November 1977 as a cadet in the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Academy while employed as a City of Westwego Police Officer. In November 1978, he joined the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office where he worked in the patrol and canine divisions until November 1986 when he accepted a position with the Louisiana State Police.
LTC Penouilh’s career as a state trooper began at Troop B in New Orleans where he was assigned to traffic enforcement patrol for nearly three years. Except for a brief time when he worked at Troop L in Mandeville, most of Penouilh’s work after leaving Troop B was in narcotics enforcement. He was promoted to sergeant in 1993 and Lieutenant in 1996.
In December 2004 LTC Penouilh was promoted to Commander of Troop C in Gray supervising traffic operations throughout the five south-central Louisiana parishes comprising the troop. In May 2008 he was promoted to the rank of Major as the Command Inspector of Region I Patrol where he was responsible for oversight of the four Troops located in the most-heavily populated area of the state. In January 2009, he was appointed Command Inspector of the Criminal Investigations Division where he remained until his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel as the Deputy Superintendent of the Bureau of Investigations.
As the Deputy Commander of South District Narcotics, LTC Penouilh was responsible for coordinating and implementing the agency’s current role in the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (GC-HIDTA) initiative. This program was implemented in 1996 by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to combat drug trafficking and in critical regions of the United States. He was also responsible for successfully managing several large, complex investigations which required continuous collaboration with several different agencies throughout the southern states simultaneously.
While serving as Commander of Troop C, LTC Penouilh worked aggressively to combat the area’s very serious DWI problem. In addition to increasing enforcement initiatives, he was also instrumental in working with the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney’s Office to establish the first DWI Court in Louisiana. This program is designed to reduce recidivism among DWI offenders and is modeled after highly successful Drug Court Programs and its success is now well documented.
LTC Penouilh remains responsible for overseeing the agency’s Critical Incident Stress Management program. This program provides employees and family members of employees with emotional and psychological support subsequent to involvement in critical incidents. LTC Penouilh has been involved with the program for more than a decade and has been actively involved in it since its inception in 1996. While serving as the Command Inspector for the Criminal Investigations Division, he implemented regular mandatory psychological interventions for all personnel involved in “Operation Child Watch” to assist them in learning how to develop effective coping strategies to deal with the trauma caused by viewing child pornography in the course of their duties.
As a result of his life experiences and his State Police assignments, LTC Penouilh has learned the value of partnerships, field input, and non-traditional approaches to accomplishing agency goals and protecting the public.
LTC Penouilh earned a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from Loyola University in New Orleans and a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans. He is also a graduate of the 204th session of the FBI National Academy and the 46th session of the DEA Drug Unit Commander Academy.
