By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – After 40 years with the St. Louis County Police, Ron Batelle says his proudest moment was getting promoted to Chief.
Batelle has announced he's retiring from the post June first.
He says crime has dropped recently because of effective community policing, but adds small police departments in the county need to be more professional.
Someone in the county, be it the County Council or a crime commission or whatever entity it might be, has to set minimum law enforcement standards for St. Louis County in order to operate as a police department," Batelle said.
Batelle says municipalities could save money by consolidating police departments or contracting for services with the county.
Batelle has been St. Louis County Police Chief since 1990.