St. Louis has one of the nation’s highest violent crime rates, and its police department struggles to keep up. Many neighborhoods hire officers through private security firms, creating disparities in how the city is policed.
St. Louis had a particularly bloody year in 2020. But for 2021, the police department announced a turnaround: Homicides dropped by nearly 25%. Big news,.
The Missouri Attorney General's office often refuses to enforce a law designed to ensure government transparency because it considers state agencies like the Department of Health and Senior Services "a client." That leaves complainants with few options to obtain public records.