Columbia News

U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and FBI Director Kash Patel have announced a significant increase in federal resources aimed at addressing violent crime in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. The initiative, which comes after close coordination between Senator Schmitt, Director Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, will result in one of the largest per capita increases of full-time FBI agents and intelligence personnel in the country for St. Louis.

According to officials, this measure is intended to strengthen the FBI’s ability to combat violent crime locally and represents a lasting commitment by the current administration to public safety in St. Louis. The new staffing levels will bring the number of FBI personnel in the area to its highest point in years.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era of federal-state partnership to promote law and order in St. Louis. This permanent investment in St. Louis by the FBI will be coupled with increased multilateral joint agency operations, increasing overall crime fighting capacity and building upon the important work being done on the state level to restore public safety.  I want to thank Director Patel for engaging closely with me from the moment I made this request. His vision of getting agents out of politics and into the field is helping to restore law and order across the country. This investment in St. Louis will be felt for years to come,” said Senator Schmitt.

FBI Director Kash Patel added: “The FBI’s mission is simple: keep Americans safe. That means putting more agents on the streets and more resources into communities that need it most. This investment in St. Louis is about action, not politics, making sure our agents are shoulder to shoulder with local law enforcement to take violent criminals off the streets. Working with our great partners in Missouri and at the Department of Justice, we’re bringing the FBI to its strongest presence in St. Louis in years and we’re here to stay.”

The increase is described as just one part of broader efforts by federal authorities under current leadership aimed at reducing crime rates throughout Missouri and nationwide.