Think of him as the CWE safety czar.
James Partee, the new Central West End Neighborhood Security Initiative Director, has been charged with coordinating security and offering a fresh approach to improving safety in the CWE. After an extensive search for candidates, Partee was selected from three finalists, who all spoke at a public security meeting this summer.
Before settling in to his new position in October, Partee served as chief of police for the Moscow Mills Police Department for three years. He began his law enforcement career in 1991 with the St. Louis County Police Department working special assignments, including narcotics and street gangs. Partee later worked as a DARE and School Resource Officer for the city of St. Peters and a detective lieutenant for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, where he was in charge of the Criminal Investigations Division.
The Neighborhood Security Initiative is funded by six of the CWE Special Business Districts, which collect taxes from property owners to be used primarily for security. Washington University Medical Center is also contributing to the effort. Each funding entity is represented on the NSI Committee.
Currently, each of the six CWE Special Business Districts contracts separately with a private security firm, which in turns hires off-duty police to patrol the area. The goal of the NSI is to forge a more comprehensive plan for private security in the CWE, along with creating community-based strategies to prevent crime. All of this will be done with input from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.
Partee is evaluating current security efforts used by the various Special Business Districts and will make recommendations on types of private patrols, scheduling and special initiatives to commissioners.
The initiative is the brainchild of the Central West End Association’s Security Committee, which met for several months with representatives from the Special Business Districts ironing out details for the plan. The CWE Association continues to lend administrative support, along with CWE Midtown Development.
When he’s not meeting with residents, business owners, community leaders and police officers, Partee can be found in the new NSI office at 324 N. Euclid Ave. Residents are encouraged to stop by to share safety concerns and pick up advice on reducing crime. Partee can be reached at jpartee`thecwe.com or 314-454-5808.