§ 131.855 Appointment of special officers on finding that laws are not enforced

If an investigation shows that local officers aren't properly enforcing the state's criminal laws, the Governor has the power to step in. The Governor can appoint special officers to take over and make sure the laws get enforced the way they should be.

This appointment isn't permanent. The special officers can only serve for up to 90 days. The idea is to fix a short-term problem, not to permanently replace local law enforcement.

For regular people, this rule matters because it gives the state a way to respond if local police or officials are failing to do their jobs when it comes to enforcing criminal laws. It's a safety net that lets the Governor bring in help to correct the problem, but only for a limited time while a longer-term fix is worked out.