What does a safer Missouri mean for the city of St. Louis?
That’s what some Democratic lawmakers are considering after Senate Republicans passed a sweeping crime bill on Thursday. The plan includes returning control of the St. Louis Police Department to the state.
Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, said that while he cannot support the bill that takes the power away from local elected leaders, it does make public safety improvements to the city.
“The most significant of these was how the board of commissioners would be structured. The original bill allowed for minimal local input with the majority of the board selected solely by the police unions,” said Roberts. “Thanks to the efforts of the Democratic senators, we were able to eliminate those provisions. Now any commissioner will need to be sponsored and supported by the senators who actually represent the city of St. Louis.”
The mayor of St. Louis would be on the board, as well as four citizens appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. One of the commissioners would be a nonvoting member.
“We also added important provisions to ensure that pregnant women will not be shackled by law enforcement or corrections officers and receive the medical treatments and considerations that they need,” he said. “I was also extremely proud to say that we included legislation to provide restitution for individuals who are wrongly convicted.”
The large crime package would also create the Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force, require law enforcement to report the immigration status of suspects, and boost the penalties for organized crime rings that raid retail stores.
Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, said the bill returns oversight of law enforcement to the people who live and work in St. Louis.
It now heads back to the Missouri House for additional work.
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