NIXON REVEALS NEW ANTI-CRIME PLAN

The state Legislature should enact tougher methamphetamine laws to "bust the bad guys," Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said Friday.

Nixon also wants lawmakers to implement fast-track drug courts statewide and provide continued funding for alternative schools.

Nixon has pushed his anti-crime package at press conferences around the state.

He spoke to reporters Friday afternoon at the attorney general's office in Cape Girardeau.

Nixon said the state needs tougher laws to shut down methamphetamine trafficking, which has become rampant in Missouri.

Nixon said lawmakers should:

-- Increase the penalty for possessing the illegal drug and reduce the amount of the drug it takes to qualify as a felony.

-- Expand the list of over-the-counter products used to manufacture methamphetamine that must be registered when purchased in bulk.

-- Provide direct prosecutorial and other legal services to the state's 24 regional drug task forces.

Only a few of the task forces are staffed by federal prosecutors and many of the others must rely on overburdened, part-time local prosecutors, Nixon said.

The attorney general said Missouri's war on crime in the 21st century should focus on protecting children and providing successful intervention programs for at-risk youth.

"We have been tough and had great success in closing the loopholes in our laws and reforming our juvenile code," he said.

"It is now time to increase our commitment to fight against crime by supporting programs targeting troubled juveniles and keeping them from a life of crime," he said.

Nixon said the cost of such programs is less than it costs to keep people in prison.

Missouri's state prisons hold 24,000 inmates. Double the number held four years ago.

Nixon said fast-track drug courts would give top priority to drug cases and prevent drug dealers from being on the streets awaiting trial.

Such courts have worked well in Kansas City and St. Louis, he said.

First-time drug offenders are placed in treatment programs. If they don't complete the treatment program, they are jailed.

Nixon said the system has worked in Kansas City where fewer than 10 percent of the first 350 first-time drug offenders who went through the treatment program have committed a second offense.

A statewide task force appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Duane Benton will meet next Tuesday to discuss how to develop and fund drug courts statewide.

Nixon said the Legislature should extend funding for alternative schools beyond the current three-year grant period.

The attorney general also said the state should assist in funding new alternative schools during their first year and provide the schools with 50 percent matching funds in subsequent years.

Alternative schools remove disruptive students from the classroom and allow teachers to focus their attention on students who want to learn, Nixon said.

Alternative schools also help troubled students get back on track in their schooling, he said.