House Crime Prevention Committee Hears Debate On Public Safety Bill

(MISSOURINET) – Hours of testimony has been taken over legislation that allows Gov. Mike Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to help with a backlog of thousands of criminal cases in the Circuit Attorney’s Office. The legislation currently only mentions the City of St. Louis, but changes are expected, which would widen it to any Missouri county struggling with a backlog of criminal cases. Rep. Lane Roberts, the bill sponsor, explains why his bill is important…

Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hinckley with the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney’s Office is not in favor of the legislation citing the backlog of up to 3,500 cases the Circuit Attorney’s Office has, in addition to the high employee turnover rate due to low pay. He asks the legislature to approve more funding to increase pay.