Thursday, October 27, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Discusses Crime Fighting Initiatives with Kansas City Officials
KANSAS CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt today facilitated a roundtable discussion with federal, state and city leaders concerning statewide crime issues in Kansas City at the KCPD Headquarters.
"Many new crime measures were passed during the 2005 legislative session and the constant, dedicated work of law enforcement is encouraging," Blunt said. "Today’s meeting was a great opportunity to discuss the strengths and successes of recently enacted legislation and to move ahead on important federal, state and local level safety initiatives that promise to protect citizens and promote justice."
Blunt met with officials including U.S. Attorney Todd Graves, Public Safety Director Mark James, and KC Police Chief James Corwin to talk about the progress made in meth-eradication as well as the challenges that lie ahead for dealing with the meth epidemic. The good news is that meth incidents appear to be on the decline since the General Assembly passed legislation prompted by Blunt limiting the sales of ephedrine and pseudoephdrine.
The group also addressed steps Missouri has already taken to fully enact legislation similar to Florida’s Jessica’s Law, protecting children from sex offenders. This year, Missouri passed legislation allowing counties to post convicted sex offenders’ pictures on their sheriff’s web sites, in addition to the name and address of the sex offender. A law was also passed that mandates lifetime electronic monitoring of prior sex offenders. Blunt has pledged to work with legislators next year to enact a law requiring first time sex offenders to serve 25 years in prison.
The roundtable was an open forum for attendees to discuss these as well as other crime issues, such as violent crime, that threaten Kansas City and other cities throughout the state.
Gov. Blunt met with Mark James, DPS Director; James Corwin, KC Police Chief; Todd Graves, U.S. Attorney; KC Deputy Police Chiefs Nick Nichols, George Roberts, Kevin Masters, Vincent Ortega, Rachel Whipple; Terry Brady, KC Police Commissioner; Mike Sanders, Jackson County Prosecutor; Dick Anderson, Platte County Sheriff; Paul Vescovo, Clay County Sheriff; Rick Easley, Kansas City Crime Commission; Chris Koster, State Senator; a representative from the ATF; Dave Barton, HIDTA; Angela Wasson-Hunt, KCPD Board President; and KC Police Officer of the Year Jim Schriever.
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