THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW

Over the last 12 years the Cape Girardeau Police Department has placed a higher priority on its relationship with the public and the press.

Starting in 1985, with the hiring of the first public information officer, the police department has shown a progressive trend toward greater communication with community and media.

The department now boasts five full-time public relations officers, two officers who have public-relations duties and two civilians who work for the department in that capacity. Sgt. Carl Kinnison, Officer Jeannie Dailey, Cpl. Kevin Orr and Cpl. Barry Hovis are full-time public information officers as well as Lt. Tracy Lemonds, who oversees the division.

Patrolman Ike Hammonds and Cpl. Charles Herbst spend part of their time in public relations around their duties as patrol officers. Bettie Knoll works through the department as a victim's rights advocate. Sharee Galnore is the coordinator of the Safe Communities Project.

The number of officers assigned to public information, and the emphasis placed on it, is fairly unique in this area. The Sikeston Department of Public Safety has one officer assigned to public information.

Calls to Sikeston DPS Chief Jim Leist for comment Friday were not returned.

By comparison, the police department in Paducah, Ky., has nearly the same number of sworn officers as Cape Girardeau but does not have a single full-time public information officer.

Cape Girardeau has 70 sworn officers with 10 of those officers working in investigations and 35 patrol officers. Paducah has 76 sworn officers, seven in investigations and 55 in patrol.

Paducah Police Chief Kermit Perdew has been Paducah's chief of police for six months, the same length of time as Hetzel. Perdew said he has increased the size of Paducah's public relations staff to one part-time worker. Perdew's secretary handles media relations for the department.

"She wears two hats," Perdew said.

Perdew said he has no plans to hire anyone full time for that position but is an advocate of improving public communication and has initiated more community programs through the department. "I feel it benefits the department to be willing to release information," he said.

"We're a public-service oriented entity and we have a responsibility to the public to keep them informed so they can be aware of something they need to be careful about."

Kinnison has been Cape Girardeau's public information officer since 1985. He was the first officer to have the sole responsibility of communicating with the media and disseminating information to the public.

"The public has a right to know what is going on in their community," Kinnison said. He added that communicating with the public and the press can be time consuming for investigators. "So it makes it easier to have one person that can be responsible for dealing with the media."

Kinnison's position was created by then-chief Ray Johnson. Johnson's successor, Howard H. Boyd Jr., increased the department's level of interaction with the public and media by adding more officers to the Training and Community Affairs Division.

Current Cape Girardeau Police Chief Rick Hetzel has made only two changes in that division.

Hetzel moved Lemonds over to Training and Community Services on July 1. Before then, Lemonds was one of two officers overseeing the patrol division. Currently Lt. Dennis Dolan is the lone department head of patrol.

"I felt one division commander was sufficient," Hetzel said. "When you look at the number of projects that public information is working on and the level of responsibility associated with that position, it appeared to need the structure of a lieutenant there."

Hovis became the school resource officer for Cape Central High and Junior High schools in April.

"Law enforcement agencies are realizing that communities want to know what's going on within the police department," Hetzel said. "By sharing information and engaging in partnerships, we're more effective in problem solving."

Boyd hired Dailey and started the Safe Community Project which Dailey is a part of. Grants through Drug Free School and advisory board and the Missouri Division of Highway Safety used to pay Dailey's salary and now cover a portion of her pay.

Dailey is the Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer and the instructor and coordinator for Safety Village, which teaches children safety techniques for riding their bikes, traffic laws and pedestrian safety.

Dailey said her involvement in law enforcement is a proactive attempt to head off crime. "The contact that I have with the public has been very positive because I work with so many children in the community," she said.

"Arresting is not the only way," Dailey said. "If you can prevent, then you have less to arrest. Prevention is the key."