ST. LOUIS — Greater St. Louis Inc. has launched an ambassador program of unarmed workers to "add a sense of security" in the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods of St. Louis.
The group announced it will invest $5 million in the program over three years, hiring 16 people to walk, ride bikes or patrol the areas between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
City officials said the move was the latest attempt to convey a perception of safety in a downtown that has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic with a reputation for reckless driving, shootings and mayhem.
Downtown leaders this spring successfully sued to shut down a gas station that had become a magnet for crime; St. Louis police said they'd move their downtown substation closer to the action at the Globe Building; and the Gateway Arch Park Foundation announced plans to buy the Millennium Hotel.
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"That talks about our all-hands-on-deck strategy," Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said at a news conference Tuesday. "We just can't put crime solving and violence prevention on the shoulders of the police alone."
Crime statistics for the city's Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods show that, while murders during the January through August period jumped from 3 in 2021 to 10 in 2024, many other violent and property crimes have been dropping. Reported aggravated assaults, rapes, robberies, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts are all down year-over-year.
Downtown and Downtown West, crime stats through August
Crime | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aggravated assault | 234 | 215 | 196 | 184 |
Arson | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
Burglary/B&E | 56 | 83 | 85 | 71 |
Motor vehicle theft | 234 | 354 | 351 | 242 |
Murder/non-negligent manslaughter | 3 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
Rape | 10 | 15 | 14 | 8 |
Robbery | 62 | 51 | 51 | 42 |
But St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy said there is still "work to do," and having more official guides stationed downtown like ambassadors can help improve public perception and provide another set of eyes on the streets.
"You can ask them questions," he said. "It makes people feel safer."
Bob O’Loughlin, chairman of Lodging Hospitality Management, agreed.
"This program is long overdue," O’Loughlin said in a statement, "and demonstrates the business community’s commitment to revitalizing Downtown St. Louis."
The ambassadors, headquartered inside the Kiener parking garage, will check on businesses, report minor ordinance violations to police, escort pedestrians and provide medical help. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will wear uniforms but carry no weapons. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will also be trained in de-escalation techniques, said Tony Wyche, a spokesperson for Greater St. Louis, Inc.
ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will not patrol the Gateway Arch or the campuses of Ameren and Nestlé Purina, which have their own security. The new safety initiative is funded from investors in Greater St. Louis Inc.Â
The ambassadors program is similar to what the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis did for years, sending out guides in bright yellow shirts with two-way radios to make the streets feel more welcoming. It was billed as "mobile hospitality," and the guides would pick up trash, dispense history, give directions and offer people escorts to their cars. That program ended in 2017.
The ambassadors program, though, appears to be more security-minded. The idea was based on a similar program in New Orleans, where Kurt Weigle, the Greater St. Louis' chief downtown officer, had firsthand experience, Wyche said.
"Cities large and small employ ambassadors like this, to great success,"Â Wyche said.
Wyche said they might add more ambassadors for certain events downtown. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will mark their locations and keep data on calls for service, he said, so supervisors can decide where to employ more staff.
Meanwhile, Police Department spokeswoman Evita Caldwell said the department has no plans to cut back on its bike patrols or alter its normal patrol operations downtown because of the ambassadors program. She said the ambassadors will be "added security support."
Dan Pistor, board chair of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, said many people "will welcome more eyes on the street" and the increased security presence, which is good for Downtown. But, Pistor added, "these programs should not be a substitute for more SLMPD officers." And city departments need to tackle the causes of crime, he said, by abating nuisance properties and dealing with homeless encampments and problematic liquor license establishments.
Morgan Jackson, an ambassador on duty Tuesday for her first day, said she is a former Circle K manager in St. Louis. She was walking along Washington Avenue and the cross streets, saying hello to everyone she passed among the regular Downtown pedestrian lunch crowd.
On some of her rounds, she said, she'd already run into some of the homeless people she'd met in her days at the Circle K.
"These are a lot of familiar faces on these streets," she said.
But she also met new folks. She stopped at one point to take a photo of a couple next to a bull and bear statue outside of Stifel Financial.
"It's a lot of hospitality and directions," Jackson said.
Anyone who wants the help of an ambassador can call 314-978-2233.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect an amended St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department accounting of 2024 murders during the January through August period in the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods. The number is 10.
Katie Kull, Josh Renaud and Robert Cohen of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed to this report.