Changes

|term_start=July 1, 2000

|term_start=July 1, 2000

|term_end=

|term_end=

|preceded=Donald Edgar Hathaway

|preceded=[[Donald E. Hathaway]]

|succeeded=

|succeeded=

|birth_place=Clarksville<br>Montgomery County<br>[[Tennessee]]

|birth_place=Clarksville<br>Montgomery County<br>[[Tennessee]]

In 1973, Prator became a Shreveport police officer. In 1990, Hazel F. Beard, Steve Prator's aunt and the first of only two Republican [[mayor]]s of Shreveport since Reconstruction, named Prator chief of police, an appointive position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prator.org/|title=Caddo Sheriff Support|publisher=prator.org|accessdate=May 23, 2012}}</ref> In 1999, he stepped down as police chief to run for sheriff, when the incumbent Donald Edgar "Don" Hathaway, Sr., did not seek a sixth four-year in office. Prator 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 [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Marshall W. Nelson, and 1,921 votes (3.6 percent) for the No-Party candidate, Robert N. Creamer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10231999/10231999_09.html|title=Primary election returns, October 23, 1999|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=May 23, 2012}}</ref> Creamer again ran against Prator in 2003.<ref name=duvernay>Adam Duvernay, "Prator's 10th anniversary", ''The Shreveport Times'', July 25, 2011.</ref>

In 1973, Prator became a Shreveport police officer. In 1990, Hazel F. Beard, Steve Prator's aunt and the first of only two Republican [[mayor]]s of Shreveport since Reconstruction, named Prator chief of police, an appointive position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prator.org/|title=Caddo Sheriff Support|publisher=prator.org|accessdate=May 23, 2012}}</ref> In 1999, he stepped down as police chief to run for sheriff, when the incumbent Donald Edgar "Don" Hathaway, Sr., did not seek a sixth four-year in office. Prator 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 [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] Marshall W. Nelson, and 1,921 votes (3.6 percent) for the No-Party candidate, Robert N. Creamer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10231999/10231999_09.html|title=Primary election returns, October 23, 1999|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|accessdate=May 23, 2012}}</ref> Creamer again ran against Prator in 2003.<ref name=duvernay>Adam Duvernay, "Prator's 10th anniversary", ''The Shreveport Times'', July 25, 2011.</ref>

Prator's term began on July 1, 2000, when Don Hathaway retired after twenty years as sheriff.  Upon taking office, Prator streamlined certain operations and saved $3 million in expenses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/about_sheriffs_4.html|title=About our Sheriffs|publisher=caddohistory.com|author=[[Eric Brock]]|accessdate=May 23, 2012}}</ref> Prator introduced "community-oriented policing" and developed a network of volunteer programs. He opened the first centers to deal with juvenile truancy, including a temporary holding facility.<ref name=bio/> He supported the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in public schools, which Hathaway had first instituted in Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddosheriff.org/content.php?c=105|title=D.A.R.E.|publisher=caddosheriff.org|accessdate=June 14, 2014}}</ref> Prator established bicycle patrols, neighborhood watch teams, and a drug interdiction unit. He developed a work-release program for inmates at the Caddo Correctional Center.<ref name=bio/>  

Prator's term began on July 1, 2000, when [[Donald E. Hathaway]] retired after twenty years as sheriff.  Upon taking office, Prator streamlined certain operations and saved $3 million in expenses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/about_sheriffs_4.html|title=About our Sheriffs|publisher=caddohistory.com|author=[[Eric Brock]]|accessdate=May 23, 2012}}</ref> Prator introduced "community-oriented policing" and developed a network of volunteer programs. He opened the first centers to deal with juvenile truancy, including a temporary holding facility.<ref name=bio/> He supported the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in public schools, which Hathaway had first instituted in Shreveport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddosheriff.org/content.php?c=105|title=D.A.R.E.|publisher=caddosheriff.org|accessdate=June 14, 2014}}</ref> Prator established bicycle patrols, neighborhood watch teams, and a drug interdiction unit. He developed a work-release program for inmates at the Caddo Correctional Center.<ref name=bio/>  

   

   

Prator is a member of the Louisiana Sheriff's Association, Cops for Christ, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.<ref name=bio/> He was named in 2008, along with his then colleague, Larry Callaway Deen, former sheriff of Bossier Parish, to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, a multi-agency program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=98&printer=1|title=Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Appointments to the Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, March 4, 2008|publisher=gov.louisiana.gov|accessdate=February 4, 2014}}</ref> Prator is active in the Louisiana State Fair Board, the LSUS Foundation, and the Norwela Council of the [[Boy Scouts]] of America.<ref name=caddogop>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddogop.com/docs/c03308.pdf|author=Louis R. Avallone|title="This Month's Meeting"|publisher=''The Caddo Republican'', Vol. 17, Edit. 4 (April 2012)|accessdate=May 22, 2012}}</ref>

Prator is a member of the Louisiana Sheriff's Association, Cops for Christ, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.<ref name=bio/> He was named in 2008, along with his then colleague, Larry Callaway Deen, former sheriff of Bossier Parish, to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, a multi-agency program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=98&printer=1|title=Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Appointments to the Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, March 4, 2008|publisher=gov.louisiana.gov|accessdate=February 4, 2014}}</ref> Prator is active in the Louisiana State Fair Board, the LSUS Foundation, and the Norwela Council of the [[Boy Scouts]] of America.<ref name=caddogop>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddogop.com/docs/c03308.pdf|author=Louis R. Avallone|title="This Month's Meeting"|publisher=''The Caddo Republican'', Vol. 17, Edit. 4 (April 2012)|accessdate=May 22, 2012}}</ref>