BLUNT SPELLS OUT POSITIONS ON CRIME

Republican gubernatorial candidate Roy Blunt pledged Thursday to take an aggressive role in dealing with crime in Missouri if he is elected.

Blunt, who is serving his second term as secretary of state, said he would form a partnership with people in communities most affected by the problem to bring about results.

With the state's tight financial situation, Blunt admitted there isn't more money to devote to a war on crime, but described his 26-point program as "talking about new approaches ... an emphasis on new ways to deal with crime."

Blunt pointed out that there has only been a lot of rhetoric in the past with little action toward providing real solutions to the problems.

"What the public gets is a lot of promises but virtually no action," said Blunt at an airport news conference to unveil his position paper on crime.

"Missouri has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the nation to have two cities in the top 10 in violent crime," said Blunt. "Kansas City and St. Louis are more violent places to live than Detroit, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C., according to the FBI."

Besides crime in big cities, Blunt noted that people are fearful of crimes in rural areas and suburbs of the state.

"Places in our state have become some of the most dangerous places to live in the United States," said Blunt. "We can't tolerate that. A basic obligation government has is to make people feel safe in their homes and communities."

A key to reducing drug and crime problems in the state rests in improving the educational system and by providing public assistance and job creation programs to give people a sense of hope.

"Programs that focus on building families and on helping people get a job are fundamental, along with education, to successfully deal with drugs and crime," stressed Blunt.

"Another step is for the governor to bring together government officials and members of the community to address how to rid streets and neighborhoods of criminals and drug-pushing thugs. Until we involve the people in this discussion, it is doomed to fail."

During his first year as governor, Blunt promised he would hold five meetings in high-crime areas of the state to get input from citizens on how to deal with the problem.

Blunt also called for having the governor take greater control over the state programs and commissions charged with reducing the drug and crime problems to ensure "the state is playing a comprehensive, coordinated, and active role."

Blunt said he would expand the scope of the Governor's Crime Commission.

"As governor, I will propose that the commission be established by statute and placed under the chairmanship of the director of public safety, who answers directly to the governor," said Blunt. He also would expand its membership to include representatives of social services, mental health and education.

Blunt said he would personally lead the first five meetings of the crime commission and involve members of his cabinet, local officials and law enforcement officers, community leaders and concerned citizens.

Another area essential to dealing with crime, Blunt said, is changing the "revolving door" pattern for prison inmates who are paroled, only to commit another crime and return.

He pointed out that 85 percent of incoming inmates do not have a high school diploma and 45 percent of incoming inmates have a literacy level that is the fourth grade level or below.

"There are not many jobs for ex-cons with fourth grade skills," noted Blunt.

As chairman of the Governor's Council on Literacy four years ago, Blunt proposed a concept of not paroling inmates who have not completed a high school degree while in prison. Blunt said he is still firmly behind that idea.

Under the current system, Blunt said the only thing most prisoners learn while incarcerated is how to commit crimes when they get out.

He said that Dick Moore, the director of the Department of Corrections, had estimated that for just $2 million in additional funding, 85 percent of the prison inmates could get to at least 8th grade skills.

Blunt said he also favors moving toward a system of phasing out parole, whereby inmates serve all or part of their sentences, and expanding prison enterprises so all inmates work.

Some of the other anti-crime proposals offered by Blunt would:

- Create an interagency drug and youth gang strike force.

- Establish a state anti-drug coordinator in the governor's office who would oversee and coordinate the various anti-drug programs in the state.

- Support reform of the state courts, including the phasing out of associate circuit judges to be replaced with circuit judges; and creation of family courts.

- Develop new sentencing options, including boot camps and restitution centers.

- Develop new initiatives to deal with abuse of children and elderly citizens.

- Making it a Class A felony to provide a minor with drugs or ask a minor to make a drug sale, with a minimum sentence of 20 years.

Blunt stressed that dealing with crime in Missouri will take a major, coordinated effort involving citizens across the state.

"Clearly our state is not as safe a place as it used to be," he observed.