JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Ten years after gaining local control of its police for the first time since the Civil War, the city of St. Louis has more murders than ever before — and Missouri's Republican lawmakers are again pushing for a state takeover of the St. Louis police department. Supporters cite high violent crime rates as a reason for such action. But data suggest neither state nor local control may make much difference in stemming homicides.

Criminologist Richard Rosenfeld has compared the rise in homicide rates in St. Louis to that in Kansas City, which already has state control of its police. Though St. Louis has a slightly larger increase, he found no statistically significant difference.

Yet some state lawmakers contend it's time to declare local police control a failure in St. Louis.

The Republican-led state House passed a bill last month to empower GOP Gov. Mike Parson to appoint four St. Louis police board commissioners. The mayor, Democrat Tishaura O. Jones, would serve as the fifth commissioner. The Republican-led Senate is expected to debate the plan before its session ends in mid-May.

Jones said the takeover effort “is about power and politics. If you look at all of the cities where we are facing control or overarching authority over local law enforcement, what’s the trend? They’re all led by Black mayors.”

Lawmakers have exerted control over liberal, largely minority communities in Washington, D.C., and Jackson, Mississippi.