With only one day left in 2016 St. Louis has seen 186 homicides. That's two shy of 2015's total of 188.
In January, the cable TV show "The First 48" will start following St. Louis homicide detectives as they work through cases. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson said the experience will be positive for his department and the city. But critics said the show only glorifies crime.
“This is a chance for the community, the world, to see really what it takes to solve a homicide,” said Dotson.
That was a major reason why he decided to give crews with ‘The First 48’ behind-the-scenes access to the city's most heinous crimes. And to allow investigators to tell the stories in their own words.
“What this shows is the hard work, the dedication, the commitment that our homicide detectives have.”
Dotson said the police department is 115 officers short and he thinks the show can actually help with that problem. Dotson said chiefs from other cities that have partnered with ‘"he First 48" told him the show increased recruitment and had other benefits for investigators.
“They see an increase in people willing to talk with detectives because they develop a rapport with them, even sometimes if it's just through the TV.”
But in a strongly-worded letter to Chief Dotson she posted to Twitter, state Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) said inviting the show here was a bad idea.
“We have a serious problem with violence in the St. Louis area and we don't need to highlight it,” said Nasheed.
According to St. Louis police statistics, only about 36% of homicides in the city result in charges being filed. Nasheed said she believes that number could be higher with more officers on the force and said there's a stronger recruiting tool than a cable TV show.
“We have to pay them more. We don't have time to play around with episodes of ‘First 48.’ That's not going to solve our problem.”
Despite Nasheed's objections, Dotson signed a contract with the show and crews are expected to begin shadowing detectives during the second week of January.
