By MATT PIKE
For a second year in a row, the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department has received a Blue Shield designation from the Missouri Department of Public Safety.
Sheriff Bill Puett says the key to getting the Blue Shield designation once again isn't just a simple application, but the support of the community to law enforcement.
"It requires commitment from the commission, it requires commitment from the prosecutor and our office holders," Puett explains on the KFEQmunnity show. "But besides that, which where I'm going with this with how great our community is, is that it also required letters of support and involvement of community members which we had a lot of individuals that reached out and supported that."
The Blue Shield program was launched by Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe in 2025 and recognizes communities for their commitment to enhancing public safety, strengthening support for law enforcement, and building sustainable public safety partnerships
Along with it being the second year for Buchanan County, it's also the second year in a row the Andrew County Sheriff's Office earned the designation. This year for the first time, the St. Joseph Police Department was also named a Blue Shield recipient.
Puett says these local agencies in northwest Missouri being honored with this shows that the community knows what it wants from law enforcement.
"They want law enforcement to be equipped and funded, able to do the job, and carry out the responsibilities that they're tasked with," Puett says. "And so, our citizens are clearly indicating that."
Last year, $10 million was designated in the state budget to the program, which resulted in payments of $50,000 to the Blue Shield communities. In this year's budget, which is still on the Missouri Senate floor, another $10 million is set to be designated.
Puett says while they wait for the budget to pass to find out how much money will be distributed to each community, his department is evaluating its needs but also looking at surrounding counties.
Puett points out that when it comes to agencies like the St. Joseph Police Department and Andrew County Sheriff's Office, their departments work better together, than apart.
"The more that we are able to bring equipment and assets into northwest Missouri and then share those, the better off we are," Puett explains. "So what we don't have to get into is, I buy a widget, (Andrew County) Sheriff (Grant) Gilett buys a widget, (St. Joseph Police) Chief (Paul) Luster buys a widget, (Holt County) Sheriff (Tiger) Parsons buys a widget, and then we all have a widget on the shelf, but in reality how many widgets do you need across all the law enforcement agencies in northwest Missouri?"
Along with the funding to purchase needed equipment, the program also provides training from the state to officers that can be utilized, that might not normally be available.
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