Gov. Parson in Jackson for ceremonial signing of H.B. 66 establishing fund for state witness protection program

Gov. Mike Parson held a ceremonial signing of House Bill 66 at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, joined by 11-year-old Theodore Tracy of Cape Girardeau and a chorus of local law enforcement leaders.

One of two bills sent to the governor’s desk after the Missouri General Assembly’s special session on violent crime, H.B. 66 will establish a fund for a Pretrial Witness Protection Services Fund in the state treasury.

According to the bill, expenditures from the fund will be authorized and disbursed from the Missouri Department of Public Safety to law enforcement agencies “to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of witnesses and victims, and the families of such witnesses and victims, whenever testimony from, or a willingness to testify by, such a witness or victim would place the life of such person, or a member of his or her family or household, in jeopardy.”

Parson said he hopes the fund will give prosecutors and local law enforcement agencies a tool to fight violent crime and protect witnesses at the local level.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson expressed her hope in the “extra tool” provided by House Bill 66’s pretrial witness protection program, and said that many times witnesses are deterred from participating in a case due to fear of testifying.

“Any law enforcement officer will tell you the hardest component of working a case to solve a crime is gathering good evidence and getting a witness that will step forward,” Dickerson said.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker thanked the governor for signing the legislation, which was approved Monday.

“This is one step forward in helping our cases,” Welker said, “and helping our victims, and helping our witnesses and putting the bad guys in jail.”

Despite the bill’s unanimous passage, the legislation does not include appropriations for the newly-created fund. The lack of funding for the pretrial witness protection program has garnered Democratic criticisms of the legislature’s focus and raised questions about the possible need for a second special session.

Parson said he hopes the state will be able to implement funding for the program “very rapidly” and expects the application process for the fund to become available to law enforcement agencies as soon as October.