Attorney General Todd Blanche announced St. Louis was selected as one of four for their new "Model City Initiative," presenting a check worth over $68 million.
Blanche Monday revealed the upgrades these funds will finance, including improvements to the real time crime center, recruitment incentives and replacing the first responder radio tower.
"We see a department that's operating 300 officer below its authorized strength and St. Louis has the second highest murder rate among large US Cities." says Blanche, adding " Over the past year the City has made steady progress in reducing crime."
With the accepting of the funds, come concerns over the police department potentially being directed by the DOJ.
"We don't view this as strings attached," said Blanche, "we view this as a pure partnership."
Chief of Police Robert Tracy also pushed back on concerns over control.
"Three different types of surges have happened this year with the US Marshals, the FBI and [ATF]... We worked well, we went after violent felons."
Tracy says the strategies used in those operations were the departments, not the federal governments.
"They work within our methodology and our type of plan that's set forth by this chief."
The other cities selected for the Model City Initiative include Jacksonville, FL, Jackson, MS, and Baton Rouge, LA
Should there be concerns over strings attached?
Should there be concerns over strings attached?
