In 2020, Missouri lawmakers acted to address the state’s rising violent crime rates. They came up with a novel approach: state funding for witness protection.
With $2 million at their disposal, local police departments can offer housing, food, transportation and even child care to witnesses of crimes. Under the Pretrial Witness Protection Services Fund, the state reimburses agencies for those expenses.
Use of the funds jumped from just $117 in the program’s inaugural year to $39,303 in fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30. All told, 13 local law enforcement agencies have used it.
So far this fiscal year, two agencies, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office, have spent a combined additional $6,414 from July through Nov. 14.
Relative to the amount state lawmakers allocated to the program, its use remains sparse. Five years on, the state’s account has grown to $2.07 million thanks to interest. Combined, local police and prosecutors have spent just 5% of the original $2 million, but the amount spent continues to grow year after year.
Police departments in Missouri’s two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, have used 76% of the expended funds.
Kansas City police have found the fund useful for providing food as well as short to middle-term housing, department spokesman Jacob Becchina said in an email.
Authorities in Kansas City and St. Louis have more difficulty keeping witnesses involved in court cases, according to Kathleen Tofall.
“They’re intimidated. They fear for their lives and the lives of their family members,” said Tofall, a crime victim advocate with the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services. Tofall oversees federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funds for witness protection, which amount to $10,000 annually and can be used by prosecuting attorneys' offices.
All of Missouri’s 594 active law enforcement agencies can sign up to use the funds. Just 44 agencies and four prosecuting attorney offices have signed up – and only 13 of those have actually used the funds.
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department has used the fund the most — the $57,093 the department has spent makes up just under 53% of all expended funds.
Mitch McCoy, a spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, did not provide information on how the department has spent $26,020 since the program launched in Oct. 2020.
“Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, we are unable to comment to ensure we protect the safety and security of those in the program,” he wrote in an email.
The Columbia Police Department has not used the funds and does not have a dedicated fund for witness protection. CPD Assistant Chief Lance Bolinger said in an email his department is “evaluating (the program) for potential use.”
“Having a program like this in place is essential for our department,” he said. “When a victim or witness chooses to cooperate, we have an obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure their safety.”
Missouri law affords victims and witnesses of certain crimes “the right to reasonable protection.”
Cases requiring witness protection typically involve serious felony crimes, Tofall said. In some cases, law enforcement have identified a suspect but not made an arrest. Officers can place witnesses who fear for their safety in a hotel, for example, if the defendant is still at large.
Many cases take one to three years to adjudicate. In some of these cases, witnesses have the option to relocate to another part of the state, or another state entirely. This would happen if the witness or victim experienced a credible threat from the defendant, their family or friend.
Threats to the victim could involve shooting into someone’s house, slashing tires, or vandalism. This happens even when the defendant is in jail, said Tofall, who has worked with crime victims for 36 years.
She describes one case in which a defendant’s family members and friends parked outside a woman’s house: “Day after day after day,” she said, “because they wanted her to be intimidated enough to withdraw her statements, to say she wouldn't testify.”
Springfield: A case study
Springfield, Missouri’s third largest city, has spent $7,101 since the program began. Most of that money – $4,300 – went toward rent. The department uses the funds to get victims or witnesses to a safe location, whether that’s outside of Springfield or to a family member’s house.
If involvement in a case prevents someone from going to work, the fund can be used for a limited time on rent, food and transportation.
“It’s very beneficial to the case to keep that victim or witness on board with the case, with the prosecution,” Lt. John Loe of the Springfield Police Department said in an interview. “Some of these cases revolve around one particular witness or victim, and we need them to be able to testify.”
Since Loe began his position in January, the department has not tapped the funds. His predecessor used the funds last fall, when a witness received threats as a result of involvement in a case.
It’s not clear how long police departments can continue using witness protection funds in a particular case. In addition to witness protection services, victims can file for a temporary restraining order as another means of protection.
Whether or not a suspect is in custody following the crime depends on the case. Domestic violence offenders, for example, are subject to a mandatory 24-hour hold in Greene County, where Springfield is located.
Of the department’s $53 million overall budget for the 2024-2025 year, $10,000 is set aside for witness protection – a drop in the bucket. Still, Loe says the program makes a difference.
“Seven grand is quite a bit of money, and being able to be reimbursed that amount of money frees up for other budgetary items that we have,” he said.
He added that streamlining the paperwork process involved in getting reimbursed would improve the program.