St. Louis Police Board Secures Chief Robert Tracy Through 2030 on a $295,000 Salary
St. Louis is an independent city in Missouri. The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners approved a new employment agreement with Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) Chief Robert J. Tracy at a special meeting on Saturday, October 17, securing his leadership through October 2030 at an annual base salary of $295,000. In its announcement the same day, the department said other cities had been actively recruiting Tracy, and the citizen-led board made keeping him an immediate priority.
Since Tracy arrived in 2023, overall crime in St. Louis has declined 45%, murders have decreased 43% and juvenile shooting incidents have fallen 60%, according to the SLMPD. Tracy serves on the executive boards of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Police Executive Research Forum, and on the National Crime Gun Intelligence Board alongside the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
"Other cities recognized what we have in Chief Tracy, and we were determined to keep his leadership here in St. Louis," said Board of Police Commissioners President Chris Saracino. "When you have one of the top police chiefs in the country, you act to keep him. This was a time-sensitive investment in our city's future — in safer neighborhoods, thriving businesses, and the people who call St. Louis home."
"St. Louis is home, and my family and I are proud of the roots we've put down here," Tracy said. "The relationships we've built and the people we've come to know make this commitment personal. I am grateful for the Board's confidence and the opportunity to keep serving alongside the dedicated men and women of this department as we build a safer future for the families who call St. Louis home."
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the deal amounts to a $110,000 raise, with annual 4% increases and a yearly pension contribution of $24,000, putting Tracy's pay above that of the police chiefs in Chicago, New York and Kansas City; he had previously relied in part on nonprofit support and a university consulting arrangement. Mayor Cara Spencer criticized the raise as antithetical to the board's stated goal of hiring more officers for the streets and called the negotiation haphazard and secretive. The SLMPD said stable public-safety leadership matters as the city prepares to host the 2028 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：St. Louis都会警察局总部大楼（资料图）。Photo: The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department headquarters (file photo). Image: Paul Sableman, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
