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Nixon announces $1.5M for cyber crimes units

July 27, 2009 By

Governor Nixon is visiting cyber crimes task forces today to announce grant awards for law enforcement throughout the state.

Gov. Nixon and Ofcr. Mike Lederle 13 multi-jurisdictional departments will receive $1.5 million in funding.

Nixon says as technology grows, it’s important to provide funding to keep up with the crimes that come with it.

Nixon made the announcement at the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force in Boone County, which covers seven surrounding counties. Then he traveled to Southeast Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force in Poplar Bluff.

The Boone County task force says the money will hopefully go to hire additional investigators to follow up on cell phone crimes against children, which is on the rise as cell phones become more advanced, and more prevalent among youth.

The federal funds will be allocated to regional law enforcement agencies through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Justice Assistance Grant Program.

The money will be distributed as such:

Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force in Boone County (also serves Audrain, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard and Randolph counties) — $194,479.

Regional Computer Crime Education & Enforcement Group in Clayton — $178,270.

South Central Missouri Computer Crime Task Force in Dent County — $5,759.

Northeastern Jackson County Cyber Crimes Working Group in Independence — $138,066.

Southwestern Missouri Cyber Crime Task Force in Joplin — $182,319.

Multi-jurisdictional Cyber Crime Unit in Kirksville — $49,035.

Operation Cyber-safe at the Missouri Department of Social Services — $97,411.

The Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force in Platte County — $208,591.

2010 Internet Cyber Crime Initiative in Springfield — $82,323.

St. Charles County Internet Crimes Against Children program — $128,600.

Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Computer Forensic Unit — $56,245.

Tri-lakes Regional Internet Crimes Task Force in Taney County — $115,617.

Photo by Jessica Machetta

Gov. Nixon announces grant to help fight cyber crime [Listen/download Mp3 - 7:07 min.]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Economy Tagged With: , , ,

Mother’s three-year effort ends with signing of Hope’s Law

July 9, 2009 By

A mother’s persistence has led to a change in state law, after her daughter became endangered by her father’s meth habit.

Dennine Odom of Odessa saw three years of work culminate in the signing of Hope’s Law.Gov. Nixon shakes Hope Turner's hand

"It’s amazing to have Hope here, instead of a predictable tragedy," Odom told the Missourinet, "and that we could all be here together to watch the governor sign into law, Hope’s Law."

Hope Turner is Odom’s young daughter who escaped physically unharmed, but emotionally scarred, during unsupervised visits at the home of her father in Grain Valley. Her father, as his ex-wife Dennine puts it, had fallen into the grip of methamphetamine. Everything came to a head when police arrested the father at gunpoint and removed Hope. Hop was reunited with her mother.

A drug charge against the father stuck, but child endangerment didn’t.

Was Odom surprised?

"I would say surprised is a very soft word as to how I felt about that. I was devastated," Odom said.

It wasn’t against state law to be in possession of meth in the presence of a child. She says state officials compared having meth in the pocket with having beer in the refrigerator.

"You know, you can have beer in the refrigerator, but if you drink and drive, it’s a felony," Odom quoted the officials as saying, "(The) same way with meth. You can have meth in your pocket, but if you’re taking care of a kid and not using it (it’s not against the law)."

Odom added that if a person is in possession of meth, he’s using it.

"And anybody who has been affected by meth in their life knows that’s the truth," Odom said.

Governor Nixon has signed into law HB 62 , an omnibus crime bill that contained Hope’s Law among its provisions. The bill amends child endangerment statutes to include possessing meth in the presence of a child.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Human Interest Tagged With: , ,

Nixon signs crime bills after touring crime lab

July 9, 2009 By

Governor Nixon has signed a wide range of crime bills into law, after touring the State Highway Patrol Crime Lab in Jefferson City.

Nixon_labedit.jpg "Protecting the people of Missouri and providing a safe place to raise our families is the most important thing we do in government," Nixon said during a signing ceremony at the lab. "The actions we take on these issues send a message about where we stand as a society. Are we going to confront the problems we face or are we going to ignore them and hope crime doesn’t affect us?"

Nixon has signed five separate bills. HB 152 requires those arrested for burglary and violent crime to give a DNA sample. HB 685 streamlines the serving of warrants by no longer requiring that a sheriff’s deputy accompany a State Highway Patrol trooper. HB 863 provides rights for children forced to testify at trial and SB 36 imposes sentence of life in prison for anyone who rapes a child. The final bill, HB 62 , was an omnibus crime bill covering a number of subjects.

When asked by a reporter after the ceremony whether HB 152 violated civil liberties, Nixon defended the measure. Nixon compared it to a driver stopped on the suspicion of driving drunk being required to give a breathalyzer test. He also noted that DNA doesn’t just serve the purposes of law enforcement.

"The other thing about DNA you cannot ever forget: we in law enforcement talk all the time about how it gets the right guy or gal. It finds people guilty," Nixon said, "but, also, time after time has cleared people of offenses."

A provision within the bill requires that the DNA sample be destroyed if the person arrested is never charged with the crime.

The governor held ceremonial signings at the crime labs at the State Highway Patrol headquarters in Jefferson City and in Springfield. He also held a signing ceremony at the Highway Patrol satellite office in Carthage.

Download/listen Gov. Jay Nixon signs crime bills (12:45 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Residential fires, fire deaths, on the rise

June 8, 2009 By

The number of residential fires in Missouri is on the rise … a trend that concerns the State Fire Marshal. Fire-related fatalities are also happening more frequently in Missouri than in previous years.

State Fire Marshal Randy Cole says people need to take responsibility for implementing safety precautions in their homes.

“We want to make sure homeowners have safety features in place, make sure they are in working order,” he says. ”We want to make sure they have smoke detectors, that they test them every month and make sure they replace the batteries at least every six months.”

He says next, get a safety plan in place. Families need to agree on a place where everyone can meet outside in the event of a fire, and “once you’re all there, make sure everyone’s accounted for.”

During the winter, house fires can result from people using alternative heating sources, such as fireplaces, especially during times of economic hardship. However, Cole says he sees no indication that the number of fires points to a poor economy right now.

The Department of Public Safety/Fire Marshal’s Office reports there were more than 60 fire fatalities investigated last year; already this year, more than 50 have died in structure fires.


Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: ,

Kinder calls for Public Safety Director to be placed on administrative leave

March 25, 2009 By

A controversial report from the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) is getting a lot of attention at the State Capitol and has prompted Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (R-MO) to ask that Missouri Public Safety Director John Britt be placed on administrative leave. MIAC works with the Department of Homeland Security.

Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder The February 20th report indicates supporters of such things as smaller government and crackdowns on illegal immigration, as well as backers of 2008 presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin have tendencies to join militias.

Reaction throughout Missouri and parts of the country has prompted Britt to apologize to former White House candidates Paul, Barr, and Baldwin. In issuing that apology, Britt stated he had not read the report prior to it being issued.

Kinder is now calling for Britt to be placed on administrative leave until what Kinder calls allegations of profiling can be fully investigated. Kinder points out that while conservative and libertarian groups are targeted, liberal groups that include eco-terrorists who have killed and maimed, are given a pass.

The Lieutenant Governor would like to see the probe conducted by the General Assembly, with a legislative committee calling Britt to testify

Download/Listen: Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (:45 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,
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