SHERIFFS SUPPORT CRIME REDUCTION FUNDING

Overriding Gov. Mel Carnahan's veto of a crime bill would put needed money in the hands of law enforcement, two Southeast Missouri sheriffs say.

The sheriffs -- John Jordan of Cape Girardeau County and Larry Plunkett Sr. of Wayne County --said overriding the veto would restore counties' crime reduction funds.

Carnahan vetoed the crime bill lawmakers passed this session. In doing so, he singled out an amendment that would have restored counties' crime reduction funds.

Carnahan objected to the provision, suggesting they gave the appearance that criminals could "buy probation."

But Jordan said many rural sheriffs' departments depend on crime reduction money to fund their operations.

Jordan serves on the board of directors of the Missouri Sheriffs Association. He and other sheriffs are lobbying lawmakers to override Carnahan's veto and enact the crime bill. The veto session begins Sept. 15.

Cape Girardeau County has had a crime reduction fund for over a decade, Jordan said. The county led the way in setting up the fund. Today, 35 to 40 counties have such funds.

But for the past 12 months, money hasn't been coming into the funds.

A year ago this month the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges advised judges against requiring defendants to pay money into county crime reduction funds. The commission said there wasn't any state law or constitutional provision allowing for such payments.

Lawmakers last spring -- led by state Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, and Rep. Phillip Britt, D-Kennett, -- sought to legalize the funds. They managed to get the provision through the Legislature in the waning hours of the session.

The measure was attached to Sen. Harold Caskey's crime bill, designed to encourage alternatives to jail sentences with a view toward easing prison overcrowding.

Carnahan's veto leaves law funding problems for some rural counties.

"These funds are the life blood of third-class counties," Jordan said. The funds generate from $25,000 to $60,000 in third-class counties, Jordan said.

In Wayne County, defendants pay into the fund to the tune of about $25,000 to $30,000 a year, Plunkett said. "We depend on the crime reduction fund for what extra money we get," he said.

The money helps pay expenses for the sheriff's department and prosecuting attorney's office. Without the money, Plunkett is faced with having to lay off two of his five officers. He said the two deputies may be laid off as early as October.

Like many rural counties, Wayne County government operates on a meager budget. "The county is in a bind financially," the sheriff said.

Plunkett said salary and expenses for a deputy cost the county $30,000 a year. Personnel costs for deputies and dispatchers take up much of the $185,000 budget of the sheriff's department.

Plunkett said the crime reduction fund money is increasingly important as rural law enforcement agencies seek to fight the growing methamphetamine problem in Southeast Missouri.

In Cape Girardeau County, the crime fund generated about $100,000 a year for law enforcement. Much of the money comes from circuit court Division III cases dealing with crimes such as misdemeanor stealing and driving while intoxicated, Jordan said.

He said the money has been used to help fund the SEMO Drug Task Force, various crime-prevention efforts and buy equipment.

Some of the money has gone to purchase equipment for the Cape Girardeau and Jackson police departments. For example, some of the money went toward the purchase of a police dog for the Jackson department.

Jordan said Carnahan vetoed the crime bill because he didn't want to be accused of being soft on crime in his coming U.S. Senate race. The Republican sheriff suggested the governor used the crime reduction fund provision as an excuse to explain his veto.

But Carnahan spokesman Jerry Nachtigal dismissed the allegation. He said Carnahan genuinely was concerned about legalizing crime reduction funds.

Nachtigal said the governor also was concerned that the bill didn't spell out how money in the funds would be dispersed.

Nachtigal said Carnahan sympathizes with the sheriffs, but "it is that fund and how it is administered that troubles him."

Caskey, who sponsored the main crime bill, said the crime-reduction-fund provision included a sunset clause. The provision would have expired on Dec. 31, 2002, unless lawmakers voted to continue it, said Caskey, D-Butler.