Missouri Lawmakers Limit Revenue From Traffic Fines in St. Louis Area
By MITCH SMITH
New York Times
MAY 8, 2015
FERGUSON, Mo. — Missouri legislators have agreed to a proposal that would sharply limit revenue from traffic fines in municipalities across St. Louis County, where heavy fines and ticketing helped inflame unrest after the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer here last year.
But it is unclear whether the legislature will pass any of the several other measures introduced in the months after the shooting of the Ferguson teenager, Michael Brown, whose death prompted national protests and calls for overhauling law enforcement practices in minority communities.
The revenue bill, which caps the amount of general operating revenue from traffic tickets a municipality can collect at 12.5 percent, down from 30 percent, was sent to the desk of Gov. Jay Nixon after passing both chambers with bipartisan support this week. It seeks to address complaints of excessive ticketing raised by black residents after Mr. Brown’s death in August — concerns that were echoed in a harshly critical Justice Department report on the Ferguson police and court system released this year that described how the city bankrolled its operations by aggressively fining poor people for minor violations.
“When you see these long lines waiting to get into a municipal court next to a pawnshop, and people are being thrown into modern-day debtors’ prisons, it shocks the conscience and motivated everyone to get to a consensus here,” said State Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican of St. Louis County, who sponsored the bill.
Another study released this week by the Police Executive Research Forum, a research group based in Washington, suggested that the problem was common across the region’s patchwork of small cities, many of which have their own mayors, judges and police chiefs.
“In many municipalities, policing priorities are driven not by the public safety needs of the community, but rather by the goal of generating large portions of the operating revenue for the local government,” said the research forum’s report, which suggested consolidating several police departments. “This is a grossly inappropriate mission for the police, often carried out at the direction of local elected officials.”
In a speech this year, Mr. Nixon, a Democrat, said, “Lowering the percentage of revenue that municipalities can collect from traffic tickets and court fees is a good first step.” But his spokeswoman said the governor would review the bill before deciding whether to sign.
In some of those small cities, officials say they have been unfairly singled out by lawmakers rushing to enact change. Just south of Ferguson in Cool Valley, population 1,200, Mayor Viola Murphy said her government had already put changes in place, including contracting with another town for policing.
But Ms. Murphy said the bill’s cap on traffic ticket general operating revenue would make it hard to finance its services. Under the measure, traffic-ticket revenue in excess of the 12.5 percent would have to be turned over to the state to help finance schools.
She also criticized the bill for placing a tougher limit on St. Louis County than on the rest of the state, where traffic ticket revenues would be capped at 20 percent of a city’s budget.
“They’re trying to put everybody in one little package and say that we’re all doing wrong things and not offering any help to people,” Ms. Murphy said.
The municipal court bill was one of several pieces of legislation proposed in the aftermath of the Ferguson unrest, including one that would require police officers to wear body cameras while patrolling and another that would tighten rules on when officers can use deadly force. But with the legislative session scheduled to end next week, it is unclear whether any of those measures will be enacted.
Outside the Capitol, some changes have already taken place. In Ferguson, the police chief, city manager and municipal judge have resigned, and voters elected two new black members to the City Council. In the City of St. Louis, aldermen approved a civilian review board for its police force.
Many people, however, favor more sweeping changes, and the idea of consolidating police departments has become a favored cause of some critics of police practices in St. Louis County. This year, Eric H. Holder Jr., then the attorney general, said he was prepared to disband the Ferguson police if they could not put in place fixes to problems outlined in his department’s report.
The Police Executive Research Forum report released on Monday suggested consolidation for the Ferguson police and 17 other suburban departments.
“We have a situation that is in crisis in parts of St. Louis County,” said Nancy E. Rice, the executive director of Better Together, a local organization that studies the region’s governments and that funded the report. “The police departments in these high-crime areas are not providing the protection that these people need, and they are in fact making it worse.”
Ferguson leaders, however, have rebuffed calls for consolidation and say they are committed to keeping and improving their own police department. The city has also hired a well-known lawyer, Dan K. Webb, to handle the city’s discussions with the Justice Department, a process that could end with a negotiated settlement or result in a lawsuit and trial. Mr. Webb, who is based in the Chicago area and who has handled a number of high-profile cases, charges $1,335 an hour, according to a document the city provided.
The discussion of change comes at a time when tensions remain high around St. Louis. Just last week, a protest in Ferguson devolved into rock-throwing, burning trash in the street and gunfire that wounded three people and damaged police cruisers, according to the city’s account.
Still, many officials say they are hopeful. At a small-group session of the Ferguson Commission held on Monday, former police officers and protesters calmly discussed issues like mass arrests and police training. By September, the group, appointed by Mr. Nixon, will issue a set of recommendations for changes to policing, municipal courts and education in the region.
Chuck Wexler, a former Boston police official who is executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said he believed major changes in policing were possible in St. Louis and its suburbs, and that Mr. Brown’s death perhaps created a greater openness to such change.
“I think it’s fixable — I really do,” he said. “I think you have people of good will here, people who want to see change. I think out of the tragedy of last August, there’s an opportunity.”
New York Times
MAY 8, 2015
FERGUSON, Mo. — Missouri legislators have agreed to a proposal that would sharply limit revenue from traffic fines in municipalities across St. Louis County, where heavy fines and ticketing helped inflame unrest after the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer here last year.
But it is unclear whether the legislature will pass any of the several other measures introduced in the months after the shooting of the Ferguson teenager, Michael Brown, whose death prompted national protests and calls for overhauling law enforcement practices in minority communities.
The revenue bill, which caps the amount of general operating revenue from traffic tickets a municipality can collect at 12.5 percent, down from 30 percent, was sent to the desk of Gov. Jay Nixon after passing both chambers with bipartisan support this week. It seeks to address complaints of excessive ticketing raised by black residents after Mr. Brown’s death in August — concerns that were echoed in a harshly critical Justice Department report on the Ferguson police and court system released this year that described how the city bankrolled its operations by aggressively fining poor people for minor violations.
“When you see these long lines waiting to get into a municipal court next to a pawnshop, and people are being thrown into modern-day debtors’ prisons, it shocks the conscience and motivated everyone to get to a consensus here,” said State Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican of St. Louis County, who sponsored the bill.
Another study released this week by the Police Executive Research Forum, a research group based in Washington, suggested that the problem was common across the region’s patchwork of small cities, many of which have their own mayors, judges and police chiefs.
“In many municipalities, policing priorities are driven not by the public safety needs of the community, but rather by the goal of generating large portions of the operating revenue for the local government,” said the research forum’s report, which suggested consolidating several police departments. “This is a grossly inappropriate mission for the police, often carried out at the direction of local elected officials.”
In a speech this year, Mr. Nixon, a Democrat, said, “Lowering the percentage of revenue that municipalities can collect from traffic tickets and court fees is a good first step.” But his spokeswoman said the governor would review the bill before deciding whether to sign.
In some of those small cities, officials say they have been unfairly singled out by lawmakers rushing to enact change. Just south of Ferguson in Cool Valley, population 1,200, Mayor Viola Murphy said her government had already put changes in place, including contracting with another town for policing.
But Ms. Murphy said the bill’s cap on traffic ticket general operating revenue would make it hard to finance its services. Under the measure, traffic-ticket revenue in excess of the 12.5 percent would have to be turned over to the state to help finance schools.
She also criticized the bill for placing a tougher limit on St. Louis County than on the rest of the state, where traffic ticket revenues would be capped at 20 percent of a city’s budget.
“They’re trying to put everybody in one little package and say that we’re all doing wrong things and not offering any help to people,” Ms. Murphy said.
The municipal court bill was one of several pieces of legislation proposed in the aftermath of the Ferguson unrest, including one that would require police officers to wear body cameras while patrolling and another that would tighten rules on when officers can use deadly force. But with the legislative session scheduled to end next week, it is unclear whether any of those measures will be enacted.
Outside the Capitol, some changes have already taken place. In Ferguson, the police chief, city manager and municipal judge have resigned, and voters elected two new black members to the City Council. In the City of St. Louis, aldermen approved a civilian review board for its police force.
Many people, however, favor more sweeping changes, and the idea of consolidating police departments has become a favored cause of some critics of police practices in St. Louis County. This year, Eric H. Holder Jr., then the attorney general, said he was prepared to disband the Ferguson police if they could not put in place fixes to problems outlined in his department’s report.
The Police Executive Research Forum report released on Monday suggested consolidation for the Ferguson police and 17 other suburban departments.
“We have a situation that is in crisis in parts of St. Louis County,” said Nancy E. Rice, the executive director of Better Together, a local organization that studies the region’s governments and that funded the report. “The police departments in these high-crime areas are not providing the protection that these people need, and they are in fact making it worse.”
Ferguson leaders, however, have rebuffed calls for consolidation and say they are committed to keeping and improving their own police department. The city has also hired a well-known lawyer, Dan K. Webb, to handle the city’s discussions with the Justice Department, a process that could end with a negotiated settlement or result in a lawsuit and trial. Mr. Webb, who is based in the Chicago area and who has handled a number of high-profile cases, charges $1,335 an hour, according to a document the city provided.
The discussion of change comes at a time when tensions remain high around St. Louis. Just last week, a protest in Ferguson devolved into rock-throwing, burning trash in the street and gunfire that wounded three people and damaged police cruisers, according to the city’s account.
Still, many officials say they are hopeful. At a small-group session of the Ferguson Commission held on Monday, former police officers and protesters calmly discussed issues like mass arrests and police training. By September, the group, appointed by Mr. Nixon, will issue a set of recommendations for changes to policing, municipal courts and education in the region.
Chuck Wexler, a former Boston police official who is executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said he believed major changes in policing were possible in St. Louis and its suburbs, and that Mr. Brown’s death perhaps created a greater openness to such change.
“I think it’s fixable — I really do,” he said. “I think you have people of good will here, people who want to see change. I think out of the tragedy of last August, there’s an opportunity.”
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