The Missouri attorney general's annual report on racial profiling shows little progress, despite efforts in Columbia to increase dialogue on the issue.
A new report showing that African-American drivers are more likely to be stopped by police in Missouri is consistent with finding across the United States, according to a researcher that worked on the state report released by Attorney General Chris Koster. The report measures the racial disparity index, a system to measure and compare the frequency that drivers of various ethnicities are stopped and the racial proportion of the population.
Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton discussed the local crime rate and answered questions at the Boone County Democratic Muleskinners club meeting Friday.
Chief Ken Burton announced the new Deputy Chief of the Columbia Police Department this morning. Captain Dianne Bernhard, a 20 year police veteran will now be responsible for overseeing the work of the police department's three main bureaus: Patrol, Operations Support and Administrative.
The Columbia City Council has approved an amendment that changes the status of Columbia's Police Captains from classified to unclassified employees. Under the new classification the police captains lose their right to due process and are now "at will" employees under Police Chief Kenneth Burton.