ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones went over to the Missouri state capitol Jefferson City to testify against state control of the city's police department.
Missouri Republicans, including Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, want the state to take back control of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, something that has not happened since 2012, when Missouri voters approved giving the City of St. Louis control of its police department.
A week after winning the gubernatorial race back in Nov. 2024, Kehoe made it clear that state control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department would be a priority of his administration.
In her prepared testimony, Jones will point to statistics that show crime is down in the city, pointing to a 40% drop in murder cases in the last four years.
Jones will also point to overall crime falling by nearly a third since 2022.
Jones will also argue when the city police was last under state control, Forbes listed St. Louis as the second most dangerous city in the world.
Jones will also point to pay raises the department has received in 2023 and the new raise just announced on Tuesday.
She hopes the seven percent raise announced yesterday sends a signal to Jefferson City.
"We are willing to do the hard work and roll up or sleeves and work together that the men and women of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are taken care of," said Jones.
According to Mayor Jones, both of these raises are tied to the department remaining under local control.
Jones will also push back against being labeled a "defund the police" mayor, saying the department's budget has grown by $17 million since she took office.
Among those to voice their opposition to state control includes St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy, who told KMOX News back in Nov. 2024, his concerns about state control which, he says, hurts the progress that has already been made.
"I believe [Kehoe] wants the best for Saint Louis," Chief Tracy said, "but I don't think state control is gonna be this magical thing that's absolutely going to get us over the hump."
Currently, the state does have control of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department on the other side of the state. However, the city saw record high homicides in 2023 of 182. In 2024, the homicides levels saw a 20% reduction to 144, which was the lowest number of homicides the city has seen in the last six years.