Building a stronger force

Earlier this month, the Cape Girardeau Police Department made two major announcements, one of which is already making the force stronger and one that could widen the search for officers.

If given final approval at the Cape Girardeau City Council meeting today, a city ordinance would change to allow out-of-state applications for the city's police department, enabling applicants from not only across the river in Illinois, but anywhere.

Currently, state statutes no longer require officers to be residents of Missouri, so this change would make Cape Girardeau consistent with state laws.

An officer of a different breed was assigned to the police department a few weeks ago. Freedom, a 20-month-old, 80-pound German shepherd brings the number of K-9s at the department back up to four after a previous K-9, Dallas, was euthanized July 24.

Having four K-9s in the department allows there to be a K-9 and handler for each of the four patrol shifts, offering 24-hour K-9 coverage for the city.

Freedom was made possible through a private donation. He has been through strenuous training to be able to perform during dangerous calls as well as interact with the community. K-9s are used for suspect tracking and apprehension, narcotic discovery, structure searches and protecting their handler.

We applaud the anonymous donation of Freedom to the force, ensuring the safety and protection of our residents, and for the city in taking strides to ensure Cape is able to accept and acquire applications for qualified police officer candidates from a broader area.