By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has met with local law enforcement, introducing himself and asking how his office can help.
Bailey says he wants to be available to local law enforcement in addressing issues specific to their area.
“It’s important for me as Attorney General to explain where the Attorney General fits within the criminal justice system and some of the resources that are available to deploy in the fight against violent crime,” Bailey tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post in a phone interview. “We just want to demonstrate where we fit in the system and try to find ways to better assist local partners who are enforcing state law.”
One way the state Attorney General helps local law enforcement is enshrined in Missouri statute. The AG office is required by state law to handle all felony appeals.
“After the police catch the bad guy and the prosecutor locks them up, we then spend the next five, 10, 15 years making sure they stay locked up by defending the work that your local law enforcement and your county prosecutor did on appeal,” Bailey says.
Bailey says his experience gives him the perspective needed to help local law enforcement. Bailey served as a prosecutor in Warren County.
“I understand what the world looks like from their perspective and I understand what we need to do, some of the ways that we can assist with that local effort, and I want to come find out more about how we can better partner with local officials,” Bailey says.
Among those attending was Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Davidson, who says that experience in Warren County gives Bailey a perspective needed when discussing issues and challenges with local officials.
“He wanted to put that to use and see if there is any ways that he could assist us or hear from us,” Davidson tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Davidson says prosecutors attending the meeting asks if the Attorney General’s office could help with storing the growing amount of body cam and dash cam footage local law enforcement now must maintain.
“The time that’s required to download the media and ways to come up with a way to store it in the cloud, to have access to it for multiple parties, but yet keep it so that it’s secure.”
Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett also attended the meeting.
Davidson was pleased Bailey arranged it.
“The fact that he reached out and was interested in meeting with us and getting our ideas I think speaks highly of him and is a very good start to his time in office,” Davidson says.
Bailey served as General Counsel to Gov. Mike Parson before the governor appointed him Attorney General to succeed Eric Schmitt who won election to the U.S. Senate.
Bailey was sworn in as the 44th Missouri Attorney General on January 3rd.