ST. LOUIS — Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is making waves in his gubernatorial campaign with a bold proposal to tackle crime in St. Louis.
The Republican candidate is calling for the state to retake control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and promises to hire 1,000 new police officers across Missouri in his first year as governor.
"Look, when St. Louis does badly, it hurts the rest of the state. When St. Louis does well, it elevates the rest of the state," Ashcroft said, emphasizing the statewide impact of St. Louis' crime problem.
Ashcroft's plan would reverse the 2013 decision by Missouri voters to return control of the city's police department to local officials after more than 150 years of state oversight. He argues that local control has failed, citing staffing shortages and resource allocation issues.
"Part of it is getting 1,000 new officers across the state in the first year. It's not enough, but I don't want to say 2,000, and because I don't know that I can do that in the first year. We've got to have truth and sentencing. When people do the crime they do the time," Ashcroft said.
When questioned about how he would fund this initiative while also pledging to slash state income tax, Ashcroft responded: "We don't have a resource problem, we have a resource allocation problem."
The candidate paints a dire picture of the current situation in St. Louis.
"The city of St. Louis is defunding the police. They are taking resources away. Officers show up to work. They don't even know if there's a car they can use as they're driving the district."
Despite recent raises and bonuses, St. Louis has struggled to recruit new officers, with more than 300 openings in the department.
Ashcroft believes part of the solution lies in providing broader support for law enforcement.
"They need to know that they'll be supported. They need to know that the law will be on their side. If they do their job, if they follow the law, they won't be criminally or civilly prosecuted," he said.
A spokesperson for Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is also running for governor, said Ashcroft is campaigning on issues he's been working on with law enforcement for years.
"It’s why every major law enforcement and public safety organization has endorsed Mike Kehoe for governor. He’s the only candidate who will put action behind his words and truly support the men and women serving our communities," the spokesperson said.
State Sen. Bill Eigel, who is also running for governor, called St. Louis a "deserted war zone."
"As governor, I am going to triple the highway patrol presence coming in and out of our cities," Eigel said in a statement. "I will work with the legislature to take over the St. Louis Police Department and grant concurrent jurisdiction to the Attorney Generals’ office. I will take on rogue liberal prosecutors and city officials. I will do everything in my power to clean up the deserted war zone that is St. Louis City and bring it back to its former greatness."