Law and Order Continues to Be a Priority
As the 2020 legislative session unfolds, law and order will continue to be a priority for the state of Missouri. This week in the Missouri Senate, my colleagues and I gave approval to Senate Bill 600 to strengthen our state’s penalties on people who commit serious crimes.
Senate Bill 600, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Tony Luetkemeyer, is partially a response to what I believe is a lack of prosecution by some of our state’s local prosecutors. This bill eliminates the possibility of probation for those violent offenders who are convicted of murder, dangerous felonies involving a deadly weapon and other dangerous felonies involving a felon who had previously been convicted of a Class A or Class B felony. By taking probation away as an option for these serious offenders, I believe we are sending a strong message that our state will not tolerate violent crime.
This bill also strengthens Missouri’s vehicle hijacking, criminal street gangs and unlawful possession of a firearm laws. Specifically, SB 600 increases the penalty for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a dangerous felony from a Class D to a Class C felony. You can find sentencing guidelines for these felonies at courts.mo.gov, but in general the table below shows the severity of these felonies.
Legislators are also considering giving the attorney general concurrent jurisdiction for some of these crimes so that lax local prosecutors cannot simply ignore crime in their jurisdictions.
I also have introduced legislation to ensure that law and order remains a priority in our area. Senate Bill 558 removes the residency requirement that forces St. Louis City police to live within city limits. According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the city’s police department is currently down more than 150 officers. If passed by the General Assembly and signed into law, I am confident this legislation will help the city in its efforts to recruit police officers, and I believe it could play an important role in alleviating the officer shortage facing the city.
I am deeply concerned about the police officer shortage facing St. Louis, but citizens also need to be aware that many police officers in St. Louis are within a few short years of retirement and police leadership is concerned about even steeper workforce shortages. Senate Bill 558 will help put more police men and women on the streets to enforce the laws of our state.
It is an honor to serve you in the Missouri Senate. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at (573) 751-3678 or by email at dave.schatz@senate.mo.gov if you have any questions or concerns — we are honored to serve you.