Legislation progressing in the House and Senate transfer control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a Board of Police Commissioners (Scott Olson/Getty Images).
Missourians voted in 2013 to return control of the St. Louis police department to local officials, ending more than 150 years of state oversight.
And almost immediately, state lawmakers began pushing to get control back.
That effort is back again this year, with proponents arguing the experiment with local control has failed, leaving the city a more dangerous place — a situation with statewide implications.
A Senate committee approved legislation last month sponsored by GOP state Sen. Nick Schroer of Defiance, that would transfer control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a Board of Police Commissioners. Under the proposed legislation, the board would be comprised of the president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and four members appointed by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
A similar board controls the Kansas City Police Department. It is currently the only major city in the United States without control of its police force.