Marijuana's impact on public safety needs to be part of the conversation

Most people don’t realize the connection marijuana has to violent crime in Kansas City. On Sept. 10, two men were murdered in their apartment in south Kansas City. A dog was shot and killed, too. The men were known to sell marijuana, and evidence at the homicide scene confirmed that. Investigation has revealed the marijuana dealing was likely the motive of their homicides. So far this year, 10 of our homicides have been directly motivated by marijuana. The non-fatal shootings are even greater. Most of these marijuana-related shootings start as robberies of marijuana or the money connected to it.

The common argument is that this violence would cease if marijuana were simply legalized. The data from states that have done so, however, show just the opposite is happening. The Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) of the Office National Drug Control Policy issued a report in March summarizing what has happened in states that have legalized recreational marijuana for several years. These include California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Some of our drug sergeants also spent time with police in Denver and Aurora, Colorado, this summer to see what they’re doing so we can prepare for medical marijuana coming to Missouri. I wanted to share some of the common myths and facts about recreational marijuana from the HIDTA report and what our detectives experienced.

MYTH: Crime will go down if marijuana is legalized.

FACT: Colorado, Oregon and Washington all experienced increases in violent crime and property crime in the years following legalization. Recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado and Oregon in 2012. From 2012 to 2016, the number of homicides in both Colorado and in Oregon increased by 41%. Washington legalized recreational marijuana in 2014. By 2016, their homicides had increased by 248%.

Another crime has sprung up around legalized recreational marijuana in these states: human trafficking. Between 2013 and 2016, Washington saw a 600% increase in these cases. According to the HIDTA report, “Several marijuana-producing states have reported cases of sexual exploitation, kidnapping, and forced labor linked to marijuana grow (operations), particularly in California’s Emerald Triangle region. Migrant workers that travel to the region to work in both legal and illegal growing operations have experienced rape, human trafficking, and other forms of abuse by marijuana growers.”

Reporter Alex Berenson gave a speech outlining the impact of marijuana on mental health and violence. He reported, “A 2012 paper in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence examined a federal survey of more than 9,000 adolescents and found that marijuana use was associated with a doubling of domestic violence; a 2017 paper in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology examined drivers of violence among 6,000 British and Chinese men and found that drug use—the drug nearly always being cannabis—translated into a five-fold increase in violence.”

Our sergeants who visited Colorado saw a family of Chinese nationals who had been trafficked to oversee a large, illegal growing operation in the basement of a $750,000 home in an affluent neighborhood. They learned this was common in that area.

MYTH: Marijuana legalization has no impact on intoxicated driving.

FACT: After recreational marijuana was legalized in California, marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 151%. Fatalities involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana rose from 55 in 2013 to 138 in 2017. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk Study found that marijuana users are 1.25 times more likely to be involved in auto crashes than drug-negative drivers. According to a university study on the economic and social costs of legalized marijuana, 69% of Colorado marijuana users say they have driven under the influence of marijuana at least once, and 27% admit to driving under the influence on a daily basis.

MYTH: Tax revenue generated by marijuana sales will have a significant beneficial impact on the state.

FACT: For every dollar Colorado gained in tax revenue from marijuana sales, Coloradans spent more than $4.50 to mitigate the social costs of legalization, according to the university study. Costs related to the healthcare system and high school drop-outs were the biggest contributors. The estimated costs of DUIs in Colorado for people who tested positive for marijuana only in 2016 approach $25 million. There is certainly a lot of money to be made in legalizing marijuana, but not by the government.

Whether we accept marijuana as a legal part of our society is up to lawmakers and the public they serve. Police, however, are responsible for protecting the public, and there is no doubt that marijuana plays a large role in public safety. Legalization is no panacea, and has in fact increased crime and drugged driving in the states where it has happened. As the commander of the Aurora Marijuana Enforcement Team told our sergeants about legalization making its way to Missouri: “Get ready.” 

There is nothing to prove the rise in violent crime was caused by legalized recreational marijuana in the states that have experienced it. But the correlation is undeniable. The conversation about legalizing marijuana has been largely one-sided. As law enforcement, we must consider the impact this could have on public safety, and that needs to be part of the conversation. We’re not here to stifle the discussion but to add to it. The societal cost and drawbacks deserve as much discussion as any argument made in favor of marijuana legalization.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Resources are needed to address police mental health

The Kansas City Missouri Police detective who took his own life in February was the fourth member of our Department to do so in as many years. His suicide was the first we discussed publicly because, as a Department, we decided it was time that we face this issue head-on.

We must stop treating police suicides like isolated incidents. More officers died by suicide in 2018 than in the line of duty. The rate of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression for police and firefighters is five times higher than the general population, according to research from the Ruderman Family Foundation. Yet only 10 percent of police departments have a suicide prevention program, according to PoliceOne.com.

I’d like to think we are a little ahead of the game at KCPD. We have an Employee Wellness Unit and are working toward implementing a peer support program. But more is needed. We need a dedicated mental health professional on staff. We need a psychiatrist who understands what first responders face, has expertise in treating them and can devote all of his or her professional time to the mental health care of Kansas City Missouri Police Department members. We work with medical doctors when our officers are physically hurt in the line of duty and arrange for their treatment. Treatment for mental illnesses that are duty-related deserves just as much priority. Officers cannot properly provide for the safety of our city if they are injured physically or mentally.

We do not have a place for a psychiatrist in our budget, unfortunately. That is why I was excited to see a bill being proposed by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley called the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis Act of 2019. This legislation would grant up to $7 million for state and local law enforcement agencies to, among other things, offer counseling to law enforcement officers and their families. Other permitted uses for the funds include evidence-based suicide-prevention programs, specialized training for mental health and suicide prevention, and related support services.

Many major-city police departments have psychiatrists on staff. The Los Angeles Police Department has 17 of them, for example. While our department is not nearly as large, we are the largest law enforcement agency in Missouri, serving the state’s most populous city. Our officers face the unique stresses of policing an urban environment. These range from an increased risk of being confronted by an armed suspect to a high exposure to secondary trauma, commonly defined as the stress derived from helping others who are suffering or who have been traumatized.

There are KCPD detectives who investigate child pornography on a daily basis. Others listen to children who recount experiences of horrific abuse. Patrol officers and accident investigators come upon grizzly crash scenes. They must see the bodies of toddlers who were shot and killed playing with a firearm. They see devastated families regularly. They frequently encounter people who want to hurt or kill them. Then they go home to their own spouses and children and try to act like none of that affected them. It’s a heavy burden, and it’s one we hope to ease with the help of a KCPD psychiatrist.

The Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis Act would provide the mechanism to make that happen. This is National Police Week, a time when the nation reflects upon the deadly sacrifices some officers have made while honoring the service of all law enforcement. We love hearing people say “thank you for your service,” but urging legislators to support this legislation would put those words into action.

This originally appeared as a guest commentary in the Kansas City Star on May 12, 2019. 

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Missouri's new medical marijuana law and KCPD

Earlier this month, Missouri voters approved Amendment 2, which legalized medical marijuana. I’ve heard many questions about how this will affect our enforcement activity. The short answer is: it won’t.

Amendment 2 allows state-licensed physicians to recommend marijuana use to patients. Doctor-approved patients must obtain an identification card from the state indicating they are permitted to use medical marijuana. With the card, they will be allowed to grow six flowering plants in their homes and purchase 4 ounces of dried marijuana or equivalent from a state-licensed dispensary. The state must begin accepting applications for qualifying patients no later than June 4, 2019.

The passing of this ballot measure added Article XVI to the Missouri Constitution. Part of that amendment states, “This section is not intended to change current civil and criminal laws governing the use of marijuana for nonmedical purposes. The section does not allow for the public use of marijuana and driving under the influence of marijuana.”

Because criminal laws about recreational marijuana use have not changed, neither will our enforcement. The members of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department take an oath to enforce state statutes. Until laws change, we will conduct business in accordance with our oath and the laws of this state. For felony-level marijuana possession cases (35 or more grams), we will continue to submit case files to all the county prosecutors’ offices in Kansas City, depending on where the offense took place: Clay, Platte, Jackson and Cass.

Most misdemeanor-level cases will continue to be submitted to city prosecutors. While the possession of 35 grams of marijuana or less carries a fine of just $25, it is still a misdemeanor and will be noted as such on an individual’s criminal record. The passage of Missouri’s medical marijuana law in no way changes that. It does, however, raise many other questions regarding firearms, employment and more that are beyond law enforcement.

Police do not make laws. Legislators – and in this case, citizen petitions and voters – do that. We are sworn to enforce the laws as they are written, regardless of what is trendy or popular, and we will continue to do so. If there comes a day that marijuana is fully legalized, of course we will adapt and treat it as any other legal substance that also can cause impairment.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org 

Gun safety training can prevent deaths and injuries in 2017

A change in state law will go into effect on Jan. 1 that will have a large impact on firearms possession in Missouri. This was a law I opposed in the 2016 legislative session, but now that it has become a reality, the best we can do is urge people to please be safe.

Senate Bill 656 eliminated the need for anyone age 19 or older to secure a permit to acquire and carry a firearm, among other provisions. Previous concealed carry laws required those seeking to carry a firearm to complete a training course that teaches gun owners how to safely and responsibly carry, shoot and store firearms. That is a very reasonable and appropriate step for possessing a deadly weapon. Our own officers spend months in the Police Academy learning how to properly handle a gun and then get updated firearms training twice annually.

We heavily encourage gun owners to continue to seek professional training on the proper care, handling and storage of a firearm. Although it no longer is mandated, it is essential to the safety of you, your family and anyone who comes into your home. We see far too often what happens when guns are handled and stored improperly.

I’d like you to consider just these 2016 cases in which our most vulnerable residents, children, were killed or hurt in Kansas City because of guns that were not stored or handled safely. Some you may have heard about in the news, and some you haven’t:

· On April 27, an 18-month-old found her father’s unsecured and loaded handgun and shot herself to death while her father slept. The father is charged with then trying to hide the gun.

· On July 30, another 18-month-old showed up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound through his calf. Family stated a man came over to show the baby’s father a gun, and in the course of doing so, it went off and shot the child. The victim survived.

· On October 27, a 5-year-old used a foot stool to climb onto a kitchen counter. He reached into a kitchen cabinet, found a loaded gun and accidentally shot and killed his 3-year-old brother.

· On November 6, a man said he was cleaning his handgun with his 12-month-old next to him when the loaded gun went off. The bullet went through his arm and struck his infant daughter in the back. She survived but sustained critical injuries to her pelvis and spine.

· On November 12, a woman who was 6 months pregnant, her boyfriend, her sister and her 1-year-old niece were “play fighting” in a bedroom of their home when the boyfriend retrieved a gun as part of the play fight. The pregnant woman said the gun usually was unloaded, so she wasn’t concerned. But this time it was loaded, and it went off, striking the pregnant woman in the groin. She suffered from the injury, but the unborn child was not harmed.

· On November 29, two 15-year-old boys got together to play a game of basketball. One wanted to show the other a gun he had somehow acquired. The first boy took out the magazine to show the second the bullets. After he put the magazine back in, he said he intended to pretend to fire the gun. The gun actually did fire, striking the boy’s friend in the face. The boy with the gun immediately started apologizing. The victim survived. 

Proper firearms training and storage likely could have prevented every one of those incidents. Those are just some examples this year from Kansas City. In the first half of 2016, a child died every other day in America because of accidental gunfire, according to research by USA Today and the Associated Press. The 2014 report, Innocents Lost, found that 70 percent of unintentional child gun deaths could have been prevented by proper storage alone. A total of 61 percent of the deaths occurred in the victim’s home, 10 percent at a relative’s home and 10 percent at a friend’s home. That’s why it is important for every single person who owns a firearm to obtain training to know how to use, handle and store it.

The KCPD and many other local organizations also distribute free gunlocks. Call any of our patrol stations, and we will help you find one if you need it.

One other case in which a child was hurt by unintended gunfire this year happened on the Fourth of July. A 16-year-old boy was outside his home lighting fireworks with friends when he thought a firework had struck him in the shoulder. When the burning pain didn’t stop, he realized he’d been shot. An emergency room doctor determined the bullet’s trajectory; it had come from the sky above the boy and headed straight down. The teen had been hit by celebratory gunfire.

Shooting guns off in the air is dangerous and illegal, and we see a lot of it on New Year’s Eve. Endangering the lives and property of your neighbors is no way to celebrate. The reality is that any bullet discharged from a gun, even into the sky, must land somewhere, and when it does, there’s significant risk of injury or death. Celebratory gunfire killed an 11-year-old Kansas City girl on July 4th five years ago, and it hurt a 16-year-old boy this year. The family of the 11-year-old girl went door to door with our officers this year in the days leading up to the 4th of July to visit houses where our Shot Spotter gunshot detection system determined there had been celebratory Independence Day gunfire the previous year. They pleaded with residents in the area not to shoot off guns and make any other family suffer what theirs has had to go through.

A few other gun safety issues as we enter the New Year that I wanted to address in our efforts to make Kansas City as safe as possible: If you own a gun, it is very important that you record its serial number and keep that number in a safe place. And although it is not required by law, (legislation has been pre-filed in the Missouri General Assembly that could mandate it, however) always report if your gun has been stolen. If your gun is stolen, reporting it helps police track down where it’s been and who has been using it (and having the serial number makes this much easier). Stolen guns are used in a host of violent crimes in Kansas City. We recover shell casings at every shooting scene and work tirelessly to match them back to guns. Being able to establish a chain of custody of those crime guns is imperative to solving cases and preventing future gun violence.

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department works hard to prevent shootings in our city, and we need everyone’s help to do it in 2017.

-->

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Bill would harm federal partnerships that reduce violent crime

Yesterday, I joined Mayor Sly James, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Richard Callahan, U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, in Jefferson City to speak out against a bill pending in the Missouri Legislature that seeks to nullify federal gun laws. I posted the mayors’ piece on this blog Monday.

I want to make clear that I support the Second Amendment, and I support the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. But parts of this legislation, dubbed “The Second Amendment Preservation Act,” do little to support the rights of lawful gun owners. Instead, it hinders some of the best tools we in municipal law enforecement have – federal partnerships – to reduce violent crime.

This bill would make it against the law for our officers to work with federal agents to enforce gun laws. Below are just some of the federal partnerships and programs in which we engage to fight violent crime, and they all would be in jeopardy if the Missouri General Assembly passes this legislation.

Last year, Kansas City Police worked with our federal partners to get 132 violent criminals off the street with federal felon in possession of firearms cases as part of Project Ceasefire. We also recovered 204 illegal weapons. In the first quarter of this year, we’ve arrested 34 felons in possession of firearms and recovered 66 illegal firearms. The primary elements of Operation Ceasefire are stopping illicit firearms traffickers and harsh federal prison sentences that give gang members and other criminals a strong deterrent to gun violence. House Bill 1439 puts this incredibly successful program and the safety of our residents in jeopardy.

Twenty KCPD detectives are deputized by federal agencies to enforce federal gun laws.

Our Career Criminal Squad alone has two FBI agents, two ATF agents, five U.S. Deputy Marshals, and one Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent. This Squad is one of the best in the nation at tracking down violent criminals, having arrested more than 200 federal fugitives in the last eight years. The majority of those fugitives have committed violent crimes with firearms. Again, House Bill 1439 would likely dismantle this Squad.

Last year, our Gang Squads arrested 21 violent gang members with the assistance of federal partners. They were charged on hundreds of federal counts – many of them weapons charges. So far this year, nine gang members have been arrested and charged with 66 federal counts. If HB 1439 were to pass, we could not continue this kind of enforcement, and gang activity would undoubtedly increase in Kansas City.

A total of 20 federal agents from the ATF, DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals and ICE are directly assigned to KCPD squads and regional task forces that investigate violent crimes and drug trafficking organizations. These cases involve large amounts of weapons offenses.

Our Kansas City No Violence Alliance, KC NoVA, has been a remarkably successful partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement, prosecutors, and social services. It’s a focused deterrence program that targets our city’s most violent offenders while offering services to those on the fringes of criminal networks. It has taken murderers off the streets and given assistance ranging from literacy courses to substance abuse treatment to nearly 100 people. But it is built on partnerships with federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who enforce gun laws.

Working with federal partners to enforce gun laws is one of the most effective tools in our toolbox for preventing violent crime and homicides. I hope we can continue to do so.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Mayor: Bill violates a solemn oath, undermines a sacred freedom

Below is the text of an editorial written by Kansas City Mayor Sly James and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay discussing a bill that, if approved, could make our cities substantially more dangerous. I'm accompanying Mayor James to Jefferson City today to support him in his effort to stand against House Bill 1439. I ask that you contact your legislator to do the same.

Here is the editorial:

We are the mayors of Missouri’s two largest cities – Kansas City and St. Louis. We represent more than one out of every eight Missourians. Our communities are the centers of metropolitan regions that constitute Missouri’s two greatest economic powerhouses.

We have taken solemn oaths of office. We have pledged to support the Constitution of the United States and to faithfully discharge the duties of our offices.

These duties mainly have to do with keeping our communities safe and well, being good stewards of public resources, working to preserve and create good jobs, rewarding business innovation, meeting the educational needs and creating opportunities for our children, celebrating and promoting our rich cultural, architectural, historical and artistic resources, keeping an eye out for our seniors and extending a helping hand to those in need, welcoming new immigrants, and otherwise working toward just and vibrant and sustainable communities that embrace diversity and welcome and create opportunity for all.

A divided Missouri House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 1439. It purports to “preserve” rights to carry and keep firearms. The Missouri and United States constitutions speak to such rights. They are legitimate subjects of legislative attention and public debate. The same holds true for the authority and responsibilities of our federal and state governments. Reasonable people can differ on questions of the limits and scope of the authority of each, and which is best suited to meet what public responsibilities. Americans have been debating these issues since the dawn of our republic.

House Bill 1439 moves well beyond the boundary of reasonable debate. It is an affront to our communities. It is an embarrassment to the State of Missouri.

Simply put, House Bill 1439 represents a reckless attempt by narrow ideological interests to coerce us and other law abiding local officials into violating our oaths of office. The bill, if enacted, would do little to preserve legitimate gun ownership rights. It would do much to undermine the freedom of the people we represent and to threaten the stability of the communities we serve.

We will not be coerced.

House Bill 1439 seeks to intimidate local officials into disregarding settled interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and violating federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, regulations, statutes or ordinances.

We will not be intimidated.

House Bill 1439 would make it illegal for our police officers and local prosecutors to work with federal agencies in efforts to reduce gun violence in our cities. State lawmakers would empower street thugs and highway snipers, authorizing them to file lawsuits and recover attorneys’ fees against police and prosecutors who work with federal authorities to keep our communities safe.

We will defend our police and prosecutors and federal partners. We will not cower to political extremists. We will keep our communities safe.

Missouri lawmakers also take an oath of office. They solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States. A violation of their oath forever disqualifies them from “holding any office of trust or profit in this state.”

We intend to abide by our oaths. We expect Missouri’s lawmakers to abide by theirs.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Legislative remedies are needed to address gun violence

The below, which I wrote with Mayor Sly James, also is published as an As I See It column in today's Kansas City Star:

We often are asked what we’re doing to combat violent crime, and why we seem to have more than other cities of similar size. We think that is a fair question and want to assure the community that we are doing everything in our power to stop the bloodshed.  Our long-term efforts range from the Turn the Page KC third grade reading initiative, to the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KCNoVA), a program with local, state and federal partners that targets the city’s most violent offenders for aggressive prosecution and offers minor offenders social services so they can change their ways.

But there are things beyond our power that would significantly reduce violent crime in Kansas City. We stand united in our conviction that something must be done to address the issue of illegal guns. Of the 106 homicides in our city last year, 90 were committed with a handgun. We can’t alleviate the issue of gun violence until we address the issue of people who have guns that shouldn’t, and that is something that must be done in the Missouri Legislature.  To that end, we applaud the efforts of Representative Brandon Ellington, who filed House Bill 2159 last week.

House Bill 2159 addresses two badly needed legislative remedies that have proven remarkably effective in reducing gun violence in other cities nationwide: universal background checks and mandatory reporting of lost or stolen guns. These provisions promote responsible gun ownership by law-abiding residents while preventing firearms from falling into the hands of those who would use them to hurt or kill others.

Did you know that currently either of us could meet you in a parking lot and legally sell you a gun with no record of the transaction and no background check required at all? Or you could go to a gun show and do the very same? A study by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research published in last month’s Journal of Urban Health found the 2007 repeal of the Missouri law requiring a background check on all firearm purchases has contributed to an additional 55 to 63 murders each year from 2008 to 2012. We’d venture to say most of those occurred in Kansas City and St. Louis (another city plagued by gun violence disproportional to its population). There is a clear correlation, and states that have universal background checks have fewer homicides. It just makes sense. Multiple studies have shown between 85 and 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks, including 74 percent of National Rifle Association members.

Mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms is another tool that could reduce our city’s gun violence. This deters gun trafficking and can help solve crimes. Police may trace a gun used in a crime to its original owner, but that person can claim it was stolen to hide his or her involvement in the crime or in a gun trafficking scheme. 

Chicago implemented a mandatory stolen firearm reporting law last year and watched its previously record-breaking homicide numbers plummet to the lowest level in 50 years.

Legislation like this would do so much to make Missouri’s metropolitan areas safer.

A large focus of legislative efforts pertaining to guns has been the unconstitutional Senate Bill 613. That bill would severely undermine the ability to solve and prevent crimes and seeks to nullify all federal gun laws in Missouri. Although the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause prevents this, and it was vetoed last year, legislators continue to push it through with little concern for the dangerous impact it will have on cities. A provision of SB 613 would make it a crime for anyone to enforce federal gun laws. This would essentially require Kansas City Police to arrest the FBI, ATF and other federal agents with whom they work every day. This legislation would destroy KC NoVA. It could stop the federal prosecution of felons in possession of firearms, which has put so many violent offenders behind bars over the years. It would halt the investigation and prosecution of hundreds of cases, leaving violent criminals on the streets. We cannot emphasize enough how damaging and dangerous this law would be if passed, and we urge residents to reach out to their legislators to ask them to stop it and support House Bill 2159 instead.

We vow to work together to reduce gun violence in Kansas City. But we need the help of the Missouri Legislature to make a significant impact on the safety of our community.

Reducing gun violence: Local/federal partnerships make a difference

I authored the below letter with St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson and Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum. It appears today as an "As We See It" column in the Kansas City Star.

The Missouri legislature is receiving national attention for passing a law that would attempt to nullify all federal gun laws within the state.  The legislation was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon, but the legislature may attempt to override that veto.

Most legal experts agree that the legislation is unconstitutional. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not allow state legislatures to nullify federal laws.

As police officials we are concerned about this legislation because it would make it a state crime for our federal partners at the FBI, ATF, and other agencies to do their job of enforcing federal gun laws in Missouri. The prospect of Missouri officials trying to arrest federal agents is unimaginable, but that is what House Bill 436 would provide.

We find the legislation offensive for the disrespect it shows to federal law enforcement agents. Our partnerships with federal officials are a key part of our strategies for reducing gun violence. Federal criminal sentences for gun violence are usually more certain than those provided under state law.  And federal agencies provide important resources in personnel, equipment, and intelligence about violent criminals.

                   

The respect for federal agencies among local police, particularly with respect to reducing gun violence, is found nationwide.  The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a policing research organization, in 2009 conducted a survey of all local law enforcement agencies serving cities of 100,000 or more regarding their gun violence strategies.

                  

PERF asked the local police to “rate” dozens of gun violence reduction strategies, such as tracing guns found at crime scenes, investigating straw purchases of guns on behalf of convicted felons, deploying gunshot detection technology, targeting violent gangs, removing guns from the scene of domestic violence calls, and providing gun safety education in schools. 

                  

The strategies that involve working with federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors received high approval ratings. In fact, the Number 1 strategy that police chiefs consider most effective in preventing gun violence is submitting cases to the U.S. Attorney for prosecution.  Police chiefs wish that federal prosecutors could handle more gun violence cases resulting from partnerships between local police and federal agents.

                  

A large-scale operation of this kind made headlines in St. Louis in July.  More than 200 people were arrested and 265 firearms were seized in the operation, which involved more than 80 ATF personnel working with St. Louis police and others.

                  

The arrestees had a total of more than 2,300 prior arrests – and yet these people were still on the streets of St. Louis and East St. Louis, armed and dangerous. Because of this joint operation, the arrestees are now facing federal charges with significant penalties. This will make our neighborhoods safer.

                  

Similar results were obtained in the Kansas City area in May, when an operation by ATF and Kansas City Police produced 61 arrests and seizure of 222 firearms. Some of the seized guns had been used in multiple violent crimes, including unsolved homicide investigations. This operation targeted armed career criminals – violent felons who carry guns.

                 

Local police chiefs are grateful for the help we receive from ATF, the FBI, and other federal agencies.  And yet if House Bill 436 were allowed to take effect, instead of thanking federal agents for helping us take violent offenders off the street, our duty would be to arrest the federal agents.   

                  

The outcome of this absurd legislation is that our communities will be less safe if criminals are not prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  Other states recognize the value of partnerships between local police and federal agencies.  If Missouri shuts down these partnerships because of a decision made by legislators, in effect we will be encouraging criminals to come to Missouri.

                  

We urge our legislators to sustain the Governor’s veto of House Bill 436 and allow Missouri’s law enforcement agencies to work with federal agencies. The citizens of Kansas City and St. Louis will be better off for it.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org