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March 6, 2020Jefferson City, Mo. |  By: AP

Missouri legislators mulling repeal of police residency rule

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri lawmakers are considering a proposal that would no longer require police officers to live within the cities where they serve.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the state House gave the bill preliminary approval on Wednesday. It needs one more vote in the House before proceeding to the Senate for further debate.

The legislation's advocates say removing the mandate could help fill scores of the estimated 138 vacancies in the St. Louis police department, augmenting it's ability to fight crime in a city that saw 194 homicides last year.

If approved, officers would have to reside within an hour's response time of their headquarters