DPS Officials Praise Gov. Blunt’s State of the State Address Calling for Funding to Critical Public Safety Initiatives

JEFFERSON CITY, Tuesday January 15, 2008—Public safety officials watched Gov. Matt Blunt’s fourth State of the State address, as the governor announced important initiatives to support the safety and security of Missourians

In his address and budget, Gov. Blunt outlined important priorities to fight illegal immigration, interoperable communications, crime labs, homeland security response teams and drug task forces renewing his commitment to ensure a safer, securer Missouri.

“The governor’s budget addresses the most important public safety issues facing the Department of Public Safety and our local and county colleagues,” said Director of Public Safety Mark James. “These recommendations are critical to the safety and security of all Missourians and those who visit our state.”

“Gov. Blunt’s recommendations in our budget enable Missouri to continue to be progressive and proactive in our approach to crime prevention, traffic enforcement and information sharing,” said Col. James F. Keathley, Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. “The governor has called for public safety initiatives that will help the patrol better enforce traffic safety laws, further reduce traffic fatalities and promote safety on the highway.”

Maintaining Law and Order: The proposed 2009 budget recommendations continues the governor’s commitment to public safety by funding local law enforcement and critical resources to combat crime. The 2009 budget includes substantial recommendations for law enforcement. Highlights include:

$12.4 million to begin a 10-year project to create a statewide interoperable communication system to ensure public safety first responders, including our highway patrolmen and woman officers, can communicate instantly and effectively to respond to Missourians’ needs.

$500,000 for illegal immigration enforcement issues to include training and investigative teams within the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

$6 million combined for state crime labs and the state criminal record repository to help provide state of the art forensic analysis and criminal fingerprint identification services to all law enforcement agencies without charge.

$2 million for drug task forces to work together to combat illicit drug problems in there area.

$1 million for homeland security response teams to replace specialized equipment, calibrate and maintain equipment and to provider other support services necessary to retain current abilities to respond to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive related incident.

$4 million for emergency back-up generators for Veterans homes.