Platte County law enforcement officials invited leaders from around the Kansas City area to speak out on the increasing levels of violent crime in the metro, and to urge Gov. Mike Parson into action.
On Monday, July 6 – the same day officials gathered in Platte City — Parson signed Senate Bill 600 into law. Advocates say the bill will increase penalties for violent offenses and provide additional tools to help keep dangerous criminals behind bars.
Platte County state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer sponsored the bill.
“I applaud the governor’s decision to get tough on violent crime in the State of Missouri,” Luetkemeyer said in a release issued Monday. “The signing of Senate Bill 600 is an important step to begin addressing the systemic effects of violent crime that landed Missouri’s three largest cities high on the list of America’s most dangerous.”
According to Luetkemeyer, the bill was aimed to combat the rise in violent crime in Missouri’s metropolitan areas. SB 600 increases penalties for armed criminal action, prohibits probation for persons convicted of second degree murder or other violent offenses and establishes the Missouri Criminal Street Gangs Prevention Act, which provides prosecutors with additional flexibility to charge suspects involved in organized crime.
After passage through the state house, the bill reached the governor’s desk in late May, with a proposed effective date of Friday, Aug. 28.
While many, such as elected officials gathered for the Monday press conference, lauded the proposed heightened penalties for violent offenders, other organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union called for its veto. The ACLU stated the new laws would increase disparities in the criminal justice system.
Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd said the bill will give law enforcement new ways to keep repeat offenders off the street.
Under the new law, Zahnd said, those found guilty of murder will not be eligible for parole; enables enhanced punishments for repeat violent offenders in possession of firearms; and those convicted of armed criminal action will face stiffer penalties.
The conference was held in the hours before Parson signed the bill, with Zahnd and others calling on the governor to not only sign the bill but to also call a special session of the state legislature to further address violent crime in Missouri.
“We also know that the governor has signaled his interest in a special session to see that we have other important tools to respond to the growing crime wave,” Zahnd said, noting things left so far undone by the state legislature.
Among these are measures establishing a state-wide witness protection program; codification of laws protecting victims of crime from being pressured into silence; addressing violent crimes committed by juveniles; and further strengthening of the armed criminal action portion of SB 600.
Zahnd was joined at the Platte County Administrative Center in Platte City by sheriff Mark Owen and a bevy of officials. Speakers included Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas, Clay County prosecuting attorney Dan White, Buchanan County prosecuting attorney Ron Holliday and sheriff Bill Puett as well as deputy chief Mark Francisco of the Kansas City Police Department.
Lucas cited the recent slaying of a four-year-old shot in his own home and two officers shot in one day south of the Missouri River. He also noted crime was up in the Northland and the time to say “we’re working on it” is over.
“We have tools that can at least make some level of difference,” Lucas said. “We have seen enough carnage, enough violence, enough devastation in our communities. We have seen that there are some people in a revolving door of criminality. People are arrested, released, and come back and commit more offenses. Indeed those are some of the individuals who we saw harm Kansas City police officers just last week.”
On Friday, July 3 Lucas issued his own call to Parson, urging for a special session in a letter to the governor.
Owen, who has served with the Platte County Sheriff’s Office since 1979, said homicides used to be a rarity in Platte County, but the detention center currently houses 13 accused murderers. Crime has migrated from the urban core into the suburban and rural areas, he said. About a quarter of those in custody are accused of firearms violations, with many of them repeat offenders.
“We need these tools in place to start stopping these people and keeping them where they need to be to make this a better situation for all of us,” Owen said.