132: St Louis Director of Public Safety, Judge Jimmie Edwards, Joins Guest Host Hank Thompson

Collateral Damage

As the City of St Louis' website explains, "Judge Edwards earned an undergraduate degree in 1978 and a law degree in 1982 from St. Louis University. He rose through private and public legal positions to the legal staff of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1990. From there he was appointed to the St. Louis Circuit Court. He was the Administrative Judge of the Family Court and Chief Juvenile Court Judge from 2007 to 2012."

Edwards was appointed as Public Safety Director by Mayor Krewson in the fall of 2017.

Here's a glance at how the conversation went:

Chapter 1. "It's what you do for others that matters most." How Edwards came to be a judge appointed to the distinguished role of Public Safety Director. (0:00-8:15)

Chapter 2. Judge Edwards says he has "High expectations... for all of the 3600 people that work for [him]..." and they're not the only ones; Judge Edwards has earned respect from police and "crooks" alike. (8:15-11:30)

Chapter 3. "Our City is basically safe." While this may be the case, Judge Edwards understands that we "have to be smarter about how we utilize our [police] officers," if we want citizens to feel safe. (11:30-19:15)

Chapter 4. But 205 murders last year! The public must be a part of public safety and this will require courage from citizens. (19:15-24:15)

Chapter 5. Edwards envisions "A community where your grandkids can walk to the corner store without the fear of being hurt." When it comes to better crime fighting, Edwards says, "It is my job to root out the bad police officers, but I also need help from the police officers on the inside." Similarly, he needs the support of the community to keep criminals off the streets. (24:15-29:00)

Chapter 6. "We're not going to incarcerate our way out of crime" in our communities. Plus a surprising reality-check looking at white-on-white vs black-on-black crimes. (29:00-34:30)

Chapter 7. Dating back to the Dred Scott trial held here, the City of St Louis has been on the cutting edge of changing America and Edwards sees us as continuing to lead when it come to police relations as well. At the end of the day, "Reducing Crime is [Edwards'] number one goal..." and it's what he knows best. (34:30-41:20)

You can also catch guest host Hank Thompson on the air Sunday nights at 6pm on 88.7 WSIE.

Andy Heaslet is the show's engineer.

*Wishing you well, DJ Wilson!*