ST. LOUIS – A long-debated political issue is once again on the table in St. Louis.
Missouri Governor-Elect Mike Kehoe announced at a press conference on Wednesday that he intends to pursue a state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
In response, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones promptly issued a statement. In part saying, “Every year since I’ve been in office, St. Louis has seen a significant reduction in crime and homicides, and a state takeover threatens that progress.”
Jones pointed to the Kansas City Police Department’s state takeover, noting that Kansas City experienced a record high in homicides in 2023. She also highlighted that, under her leadership, the city reached a 10-year low in homicides that same year.
“I’ll continue to work with Chief Tracy, our Office of Violence Prevention, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, and community partners to reduce crime in St. Louis and advocate fiercely against state control,” she stated.
The October report of the National Incident-Based Reporting System shows a decrease in crimes against a person, crime against property, and crime against society.
Kehoe said at his press conference Wednesday afternoon, “There are other states around the union, we’re looking at some of the other models that they’ve done for recruiting and retention of officers and we think we’ve got some pretty good ideas out there to give the men and ladies in blue the resources they need, the protections their family needs to really make Missouri one of the best if not the best law enforcement states in the nation.”
Chief of SLMPD, Robert J. Tracy, has been on record in the last legislative session and currently saying that his police department is better as a department under local control.
Mitch McCoy, Director of Public Affairs and Information Division at SLMPD, stated, “We know there’s significant work to do, but the stats don’t lie. We are seeing significant progress.”
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