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DPS cites 17,000 active felony warrants; seeks funds to coordinate statewide apprehension efforts
Summary
The Department of Public Safety told the House Budget Committee it has identified roughly 17,000 people with outstanding felony warrants, many for violent offenses, and presented a plan that would place investigators in nine State Highway Patrol troop regions and fund overtime for local officers to support coordinated apprehension efforts.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported to the House Budget Committee that approximately 17,000 individuals statewide have active felony warrants, and the department outlined early steps to coordinate statewide apprehension operations.
Key facts from testimony: DPS Director Mark James told the committee the 17,000 figure reflects active warrants for more serious (Uniform Crime Reporting part‑1) offenses, including homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and related violent crimes. He said the underlying data is law‑enforcement‑sensitive and that names and case‑level details are protected in national criminal information systems, but the statewide aggregate is available for planning.
Policy response and funding plan: The administration proposed "Operation Relentless Pursuit," which the governor discussed publicly, to create a network of investigators and support at Missouri State Highway Patrol troop regions and to supply overtime funding so local departments can participate in shifts. The governor’s FY26 proposal includes funding for an investigator in each of the nine patrol troop regions and a pool of overtime dollars that, at federal overtime caps, could fund up to 29 local officers to participate in task‑force activity.
Why it matters: DPS and committee members framed the plan as a statewide, co‑operative effort to locate and apprehend individuals wanted on violent felony warrants. Mark James said some of the largest operational gains would come from coordinated, data‑driven searches and by leveraging federal partners such as the U.S. Marshals Service.
Federal coordination and data questions: Committee members asked whether the U.S. Marshals Service and federal systems could provide more granular, county‑level breakdowns. Director James said he has reached out to U.S. Marshals leadership and is pursuing a working relationship; he cautioned that producing county‑by‑county named lists requires additional legal and operational steps because person‑level records are law‑enforcement sensitive.
Committee follow‑up: Members requested at least an age‑distribution or issuance‑timeline summary (oldest warrants vs newest) and asked DPS to brief the committee on the division’s plan for federal coordination and for a breakdown of expected local participation and overtime costs.
Ending: Committee leaders signaled bipartisan support for a coordinated approach but asked DPS to provide additional summary data and a detailed implementation plan before allocating supplemental funds.
