A St. Louis Metro Police Department hiring freeze would be misguided, according to the Ethical Society of Police (ESOP).
“St. Louis City has a ‘right now problem’ relative to violent crime, so any measure that does not include adequate police staffing is misguided,” said Rachel Brown, a spokesperson for ESOP. “The imbalance between the number of calls for service in the busiest districts to the number of officers assigned leaves little time for proactive patrols and community building.”
Brown was responding to a media report that some 200 vacant officer positions will potentially be defunded.
“Positive gains will be difficult to realize if police are unable to switch from being simply responsive to being proactive,” she said. “To do so requires proper staffing so officers aren’t stacking calls for service.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, ESOP, founded in 1972, is a Missouri association of police officers, park rangers, and civilians that advocates for racial and gender equity in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and St. Louis County Police Department.
“The issues that we face within the city are multifaceted and can't be solved by the police department alone,” Brown said. “The problem-solving process requires active participation from our city’s leadership to include the police chief, circuit attorney, public safety director, mayor, and citizens alike.”
After the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis last year, protests staged by Black Lives Matter called for defunding the police in order to free up money to allocate for mental health and social work programs in underserved communities.
“We strongly support alternative response measures that include mental health professionals and social service programs as part of the necessary, long-term solution,” Brown said.
However, she added that rather than eliminating vacant police officer positions, the St. Louis Metro Police Department should turn to other funding solutions.
“Hopefully, with the influx of $500 million in federal aid, city officials can figure out how to do all of the above,” Brown said. “Budgetary expenditures should be based on input from various perspectives, be data-driven and transparent.”
It was widely reported that COVID-19 relief money from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan in the amount of half a billion dollars will be distributed to St. Louis, which is twice the amount of money that Kansas City and St. Louis County will receive.
ESOP has also been vocal about St. Louis County Police Department Police Chief Mary Barton. The ESOP board last month approved a vote of no confidence after Chief Barton alleged there is no systemic racism within the police department and four ESOP members, including second vice president Shanette Hall, allegedly suffered retaliatory action for speaking up about police reform.
“For two years prior to Chief Barton’s appointment and her entire term, the Ethical Society of Police has been asking for reforms for conditions that make recruiting and retaining a talented diverse workforce difficult,” the ESOP board stated online. “Our members have upheld our commitment to public service while enduring many of the very same disparities that impact marginalized communities within the region. Chief Barton’s long-standing pattern of delayed responses to our requests and her ineffective actions on the tough issue of systemic racism leaves us without confidence in her ability to lead the St. Louis County Police Department.”
In addition to Chief Barton’s no systemic racism comment, ESOP complains about Chief Barton’s refusal to include ESOP in the Communication Committee, which she later reversed after public pressure; an alleged racist statement by Chief Barton’s brother-in-law, a three percenter flag raised at an officer’s home and numerous unresolved complaints about racism at the Police Academy and with hiring.