The Henry County Sheriff’s Office has received official word from the Missouri Department of Public Safety that we have earned the Missouri Blue Shield designation for 2026.
Last year marked the beginning of something special for Henry County through the Missouri Blue Shield initiative.
Because of the commitment from each of our communities—𝑼𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉, 𝑫𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒐𝒓, 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏, 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏—𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 as a whole, we’ve been able to strengthen our office in meaningful ways. From enhanced investigative technology to improved equipment and continued investment in our people, this has been a true partnership effort.
Through this initiative, we were able to receive a $50,000 grant last year that directly supported these improvements. We look forward to applying again this year once grant opportunities become available, continuing to reinvest in our office and the communities we serve.
We are looking forward to building on that momentum in 2026 as we continue to grow, improve, and serve—together.
The Missouri Blue Shield Program was created by Governor Kehoe in January 2025 through Executive Order 25-03. In 2025, 201 Missouri communities earned the Blue Shield designation, recognizing local governments’ significant efforts to reduce crime and foster law enforcement – community partnerships to strengthen public safety. The opportunity to earn the Blue Shield designation for 2026 opened on February 4, 2026. Communities that earned the Blue Shield designation in 2025 had to reapply this year to be approved once again.
“The Blue Shield program has shown what’s possible when communities commit to prioritizing law enforcement and public safety,” 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝑲𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “After awarding $50,000 grants to more than 200 communities last year, we’re continuing that work by welcoming new communities and renewing Blue Shield designations for counties, towns, and cities that remain committed to the program.”
“Strengthening public safety and committing to joint law enforcement community – citizen safety efforts is what the Blue Shield Program is all about and the Department of Public Safety is honored to work with communities Henry County, that have answered the Blue Shield challenge,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝑫𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊 𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 (𝑫𝑷𝑺). “Last year, the essential equipment provided by Blue Shield grants included 388 mobile data terminals, 351 body cameras, 151 license plate readers (LPR), 102 ballistic vests, 91 interoperable radios and 56 vehicles. We look forward to getting additional important equipment and training to our partners in local law enforcement.”
𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒇 𝑨𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅:
“We are very proud of our team and the partnerships we have across every community we serve—working hand in hand every day to keep Henry County safe. Public safety is a team effort, and that extends beyond our county lines. We’re proud to be part of the Midwest Missouri Career Criminal and Drug Task Force, working together to target repeat offenders, and the Western Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which continues its mission to protect children and hold offenders accountable. Those partnerships matter, and they’re producing real results for our communities.”
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our communities, our partners, and our team members who make this work possible every day.
#MidAmericaLive
