Charles Coyle

Nearly 100 protesters and activists disrupted a city Board of Aldermen meeting on Friday, calling for immediate changes to the St. Louis City Justice Center, where 18 people in custody have died since 2020.

City public safety officials say their reporting of jail deaths earlier this year excluded one person because that individual was arrested but not considered a detainee at the city jail.

Jail deaths at the City Justice Center in St. Louis are slightly higher than public safety officials previously shared and much higher than online reports show. But deaths at the CJC so far this year are the lowest they’ve been since 2021.

The new center is expected to reduce 911 wait times.

Milestones include establishing the city’s first Office of Violence Prevention and hiring Police Chief Robert Tracy, whose one-year anniversary was marked on Tuesday.

Homicides in the city of St. Louis have decreased 20% since last year, and juvenile shootings are down nearly 40% this year, according to Mayor Tishaura Jones' office.