ST. LOUIS, Mo. – St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson went head-to-head with city aldermen Thursday while discussing crime in the city.
The chief noted that more than 500 people had either been shot or were in danger of being shot so far in 2014. Overall, homicides are up 44 percent this year from last.
Discussions are underway for cross deputation, where city and county officers could work together and arrest suspects across jurisdiction in bordering areas like Jennings.
Alderman Antonio French says a lot of question remain.
“What exactly our officers would be doing on the other side of the county line, how far they would go and vice versa,” French said. “It does make sense especially on the bordering wards and bordering neighborhoods for there to be some cooperation.”
The chief says plans are already in place for Fair St. Louis. Five hundred city officers will be on duty with additional help from the county and Highway Patrol.
“We’ve canceled all the days off for all the officers in the department that weekend. Those days. So nobody’s scheduled off in recreation,” Dotson said.
Chief Dotson also emphasized the value a closed circuit monitoring system will have for solving crime. That is part of a bond issue headed to voters this November.
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