Bill seeks extra marshal in Fulton

Callaway County needs another marshal at the courthouse.

The courts' caseload has grown as the state's Fulton State Hospital, sexual offender treatment program and the Corrections Reception and Diagnostic Center have grown, Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, told the Senate's Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday.

She wants lawmakers to pass a bill adding a state-paid marshal to the courthouse staff in Fulton; the state already provides one in St. Francois County for the other Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Service (SORTS) units in Farmington.

"In 2009-10, what we saw was as few as six crimes coming out of the institutions - FRDC (Corrections) and the Fulton State Hospital," Callaway County Prosecutor Christopher Wilson said.

"At that time, Fulton State Hospital's population didn't consist of the SORTS unit."

However, with the addition of the SORTS program on the state hospital grounds, he said, "We went from six assaults in 2009 to upwards of 38 assaults, on average, between 2011 and 2014. Those also included sexual assaults."

Last year, the General Assembly passed a law making all assaults and property damage in a Mental Health department facility a felony, Wilson said.

"Those crimes have to be investigated by the sheriff's department - a county resource," he explained. "They have to be prosecuted by the PA's office - a county resource."

Also, in many cases, SORTS unit patients who are arrested on assault charges are transferred to the county jail.

"We began to see an increased stress on our local resources to deal with these particular types of cases," Wilson testified.

Also, last year's announcement that Missouri will build a new mental hospital to replace the existing facility will add to the pressures.

"We have 75 (SORTS patients) now and, by July 1 it will be 100 and, the new hospital will be set up to accommodate as many as 200," he said. "So, this will only become a bigger issue.

"From looking at the statistics over a period of time and looking to the future, I think it's safe to say that we can have another 50 or more assaults and sexual assaults coming out of each of those institutions, together, that our county will have to deal with."

Noting Callaway County leaders encouraged the Legislature and Gov. Jay Nixon's administration to keep the new hospital in Fulton, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, asked if local officials had considered asking Callaway County voters for more money.

Wilson noted the county already has added a deputy sheriff and an assistant prosecutor to help with the growing workloads.

However, the county's request is for the state to pay for one person to help with courthouse security, the prosecutor said.

Tom Dunlap, a Fulton lawyer who also serves on the 13th Circuit Callaway County Courthouse Security Committee, told senators the extra marshal is the last step in a 10-year plan the county has been following at the recommendation of federal marshals asked to review security issues.

"We're not coming to you because we've got a problem that just popped up - we've been working on this security problem for the entire period of time," Dunlap said.

Adding walk-through security equipment and an X-ray machine - devices already in use in both Cole and Boone counties - is the final step, Dunlap said, with the extra marshal needed to help with that part of the security piece.

"We want to make our courthouse secure for all of the people who use it," Dunlap explained.

The committee took no action on the bill Tuesday.

The legislative session ends May 15, but Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, said there still is time for bills being heard in committees this week to be debated and passed by the full General Assembly.