KCPD Local Control Debate Downplays STL Murder Spike

Recently, shocking headlines regarding murder suspects on the loose terrified cowotwn residents about the reality of so-called local control.

For those who have already forgotten . . .

3 St. Louis murder cases dismissed in 1 week

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Three St. Louis murder cases have been dismissed in the past week. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's office on Monday dropped the case against 19-year-old Terrion L. Phillips, whose trial in the fatal shooting of a man washing his truck at a park in 2019 had been scheduled for this week, the St.

Nevertheless, the police control debate continues . . . Here's a worthwhile passage that hopes to write-off a great deal of human misery . . .

STLMPD data from three years before St. Louis switched to local control, and three years after, show that from 2009-11, the city reported, on average, 133 homicides per year and 57,099 total crimes per year. Meanwhile, from 2017-19, the city reported 195 homicides per year, on average, and and average of 46,982 total crimes per year. 

The data show that with the switch to local control, overall crime decreased, but homicides increased.

Read more . . .

Learning from St. Louis: How local control of KCPD could make a difference

Local control of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department currently is being debated in Kansas City. But it's already been done in St. Louis City. KSHB 41 News sent a crew to talk to police and city leaders there to ask if the move was worth it.

You decide . . .