Three southwest Missouri law enforcement agencies are teaming up with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office in the fight against drug distribution, human trafficking and other organized crime with the formation of the Tri-Lakes Anti-Crime Task Force.
At the October 27 meeting, the Branson Board of Aldermen approved an agreement authorizing the Branson Police Department’s participation in this multi-agency crime task force, which will also include the Taney County Sheriff’s Office and the Stone County Sheriff’s Office. This agreement will provide participating agencies with the capability to not only share resources, but to coordinate investigations and work across jurisdictional boundaries to identify and disrupt criminal activity, according to a press release from the City of Branson.
“Criminal activity doesn’t stop at city or county lines, and neither should our ability to work together to address it,” Branson Police Chief Eric Schmitt said in the release. “This agreement brings together the experience, resources and investigative capabilities of four agencies with a common goal. We’re grateful for the willingness of our county and state partners to work alongside us to make our communities safer.”
During the meeting, Branson Police Department Lt. Dale Burnett informed aldermen that this task force would replace BPD’s participation in the Combined Ozarks Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement Team, or COMET, task force.
“It allows for Branson PD resources to be…used more effectively, combat offenders and offenses that affect our immediate region, more so than what COMET did. And we already have the staffing equipment and resources allocated for this task force and these types of investigations,” Burnett said. “As a matter of fact, this task force extends our jurisdictional abilities with agencies that we already work with very frequently. It’s a force multiplier for each of those agencies. Instead of having two to four investigators for each agency that can do these types of investigations all of a sudden, when you need to, you have a team of eight to 12, and the resources that come along with that.”
Before going to vote on the agreement, Ward 1 Alderman Alex Williams inquired with Burnett how Branson’s participation in this task force will better serve the department in comparison to COMET.
“COMET as a task force did a lot of good work. It got very broad. Essentially it was the entire southwest corner of the state. which meant that instead of benefiting each agency’s more immediate region, a lot of times, those resources were pulled in other directions,” Burnett said. “It was also formatted differently than this task force. COMET had full-time employees, and occasionally, they interacted with the agencies a little bit differently than what this will be. There will be no full-time employees in this task force. So, accountability is a little bit more localized to each agency involved.”
The Tri-Lakes Anti-Crime Task Force will have a specific focus on the production and distribution of illegal drugs, human trafficking and prostitution, violent crime, gang activity, illegal gambling and other organized criminal offenses. Through the use of intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement operations, investigators will be able to identify criminal networks, protect victims and support successful prosecutions.
“Public safety is a critical responsibility, and partnerships like this will only strengthen our efforts,” Branson Mayor Larry Milton said in the release. “I appreciate the leadership of Chief Schmitt and the commitment of our partners in Stone and Taney counties and the Attorney General’s Office. The way we stay a safe and welcoming community is by working together.”
Participating agencies will retain responsibility for their assigned personnel, including salaries, benefits and related expenses. The aldermen’s approval authorizes Branson’s participation in the partnership, which will become effective once all four participating agencies have completed their respective approval processes, according to the city.
