Richmond Heights is one of dozen St. Louis County municipalities challenging a St. Louis County law setting uniform police standards for any police department in the county, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The county “has no power or authority over municipal police departments or related collaborative arrangements,” the suit says. The challenge to the law alleges that the county has “no power or authority over municipal police departments … .”
“To the contrary,” wrote attorneys representing the municipalities, “such authority has been expressly denied to the County and its officials by the voters of St. Louis County, by the County Charter, by the Missouri Constitution and by Missouri statutes.”
The law is known as the St. Louis County Ordinance regarding Regulations for Police Services in Cities and Collaborative Entities.
Richmond Heights and Maplewood police departments are accredited by the international accreditation — Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
Richmond Heights City Manager Amy Hamilton said by email the city council discussed the police standards bill in November, and is opposed. “Richmond Heights meets all the standards and is CALEA Certified. However, the County Executive does not have the authority to dictate municipal policing standards or municipal police operating procedures.”
Maplewood Chief of Police Steve Kruse said he has no comment, other than to say the Maplewood Police Department is internationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., and “well exceeds” the minimum police standards defined in the St. Louis County ordinance.
Brentwood City Administrator Bola Akande said the board of aldermen will discuss the topic at the January 2016 meeting.
As we all know, the neighborhood we live in has a large impact on our access to public health and safety services. While I wish this article did a better job of explaining the reasons for and against this particular bill, I am open to reasonable County regulation that would address the inherent inequality of services between the different police/fire departments, so we move toward equal access to the same services for all residents in the county. Unequal enforcement of laws creates disparities that ripple thru the entire fabric of our communities.