St. Louis Police Blame Judges, Prosecutors for Soaring Homicide Rate

The city’s soaring homicide numbers and climbing rate of other crimes have left police commanders scrambling for solutions — and pointing fingers.

Chief Sam Dotson posted a blog entry Wednesday complaining that a St. Louis judge’s leniency several years ago had set the stage for a recent murder. And Capt. Michael Sack, who heads the police crimes against persons division, says he is “frustrated” that prosecutors are issuing homicide charges in fewer than half of the cases his detectives present.

Dotson is expected to face potentially tough questions Thursday by the aldermanic Public Safety Committee, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch .

The chief’s comments were a renewal of his call for the St. Louis Circuit Court to establish an “armed offender docket,” using specified judges to focus on gun possession cases that can be a precursor to more violence.