ST. LOUIS - Mayor Tishaura Jones will be in Jefferson City, Mo., on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, to testify against SB44 (Fitzwater), SB52 (Schroer) and HB495 (Christ), bills that would allow for state takeover of the SLMPD. You can find a copy of her testimony attached, and a few highlights below.
Under state control, in 2006, St. Louis was the so-called most dangerous city in the country and ranked second most dangerous on the eve of the switch to local control in 2013. Right now, St. Louis is no longer considered to be one of the top 10 most dangerous cities.
Kansas City, the only remaining law enforcement agency under state control, has not matched St. Louis City’s success in crime reduction. In 2023, while our city saw a more than 20 percent decrease in homicides, Kansas City experienced a record high.
In 2024 alone, more than $330 million in new, private investment in Downtown was announced.
After 151 years of state control, advocates of local control got a statewide measure on the Nov. 6 ballot in 2012 that allowed for local control and 63.9% of Missouri voters approved, showing a broad understanding that residents and their police force should be directly connected.
The voters know that state control hides misconduct, buries bribery, and flat-out does not work. I do not want us to go back to the days of a broken 911 system when our systems, mired in the illogic of politics, do not communicate well. I do not want our police chief to have five bosses to stymie his flexibility or innovation. Our residents deserve better than that.
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SB44 and SB52 will be heard by the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee at 11:00 AM in SCR 2 on the first floor of the capitol.
HB495 will be heard by the House Crime and Public Safety Committee at 2:00 PM in House Hearing Room 3.
