Ten years after gaining local control of its police for the first time since the Civil War, the city of St. Louis has more murders than ever — and Missouri’s GOP lawmakers are pressuring for a state takeover of the police.
The debate over policing power in St. Louis — a racially diverse, heavily Democratic city long vexed by violent crime — carries political and racial overtones like those that have roiled other cities and states this year. But data suggest neither state nor local control may make much difference when it comes to stemming homicides.
Since 2014, both cities have seen homicide surges. Kansas City’s homicide rate rose by an average yearly rate of 6.7%, topping 150 deaths each of the past four years, according to Rosenfeld’s research. Homicide rates in St. Louis, long higher than in Kansas City, increased by an average annual rate of 8.2%, exceeding 190 deaths each of the past four years. Both cities also saw upticks in homicides in the early 1990s, when both had state control of their police.
Tensions flared in Mississippi as the majority-white and Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill to expand the territory of a state-run police department inside the majority Black capital city, which is governed by Democrats. GOP Gov. Tate Reeves signed the measure into law Friday. Racial justice protests newly spread nationwide after George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis officer in 2020. Some law enforcement agencies have since struggled to recruit and retain officers; the St. Louis and Kansas City departments each have vacancy rates around 20%.Jones, a critic of what she calls the “arrest and incarcerate” model of policing, has shifted millions of dollars toward addressing mental health issues and supporting civil rights enforcement since winning election as St.
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GOP lawmakers push for state control of St. Louis policeRepublican lawmakers in Missouri are pushing for a state takeover of the St. Louis police department
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GOP lawmakers push for state control of St. Louis policeRepublican lawmakers in Missouri are pushing for a state takeover of the St. Louis police department.
Read more »
GOP lawmakers push for state control of St. Louis policeRepublican lawmakers in Missouri are pushing for a state takeover of the St. Louis police department
Read more »
GOP lawmakers push for state control of St. Louis policeRepublican lawmakers in Missouri are pushing for a state takeover of the St. Louis police department. Supporters cite high violent crime rates as a reason for such action. But data suggest neither state nor local control may make much difference in stemming homicides. Criminologist Richard Rosenfeld has compared the rise in homicide rates in St. Louis to that in Kansas City, which already has state control of its police. Though St. Louis has a slightly larger increase, he found no statistically significant difference. Republican officials in Mississippi and elsewhere also have acted this year to take control over some functions in Democratic-led cities.
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GOP lawmakers push for state control of St. Louis policeTen years after gaining local control of its police for the first time since the Civil War, the city of St. Louis has more murders than ever before — and Missouri's Republican lawmakers are again pressuring for a state takeover of the police force.
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GOP lawmakers push for state control of St. Louis policeIn one city where murders are higher than ever, Republicans want the state to take over the police. Data suggest it won't make a difference.
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