Joint Special Operations Group enhances law enforcement response in Jasper County

JASPER COUNTY, Mo. — Some Southwest Missouri law enforcement agencies are joining forces to respond in the most critical situations.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is expanding how it responds to high-risk situations.

It’s a new program called the "Joint Special Operations Group" - or JSOG.

"A joint SWAT team that now includes some of the municipalities in Jasper County, Carthage and Webb City and Carl Junction are all participants in this," said Jasper Co. Sheriff Randee Kaiser.

Each agency contributes members to JSOG, all trained to SWAT requirements - allowing them to respond together to deal with a risky situation.

"So it’s not just Jasper County. So if you see us, you know SWAT activity, say, a search warrant being served, for example, you might notice that there’s Jasper County deputies working alongside a Carthage officer or a Webb City officer who’s on that SWAT team," said Kaiser.

The project means larger numbers to respond to an incident compared to just one agency.

"We have the ability to have a lot of different people trained in a lot of different areas. And then the other benefit for the municipalities is, is, you know, some of the Carthage, Webb City may not be big enough to have a full SWAT team, but they have people on their departments that would like to be a part of that, and they can be a part of that. And so it’s just, it benefits everybody mutually," said Kaiser.

The Webb City police chief says it’s a good way to make the best use of specialized resources.

"It’s a force multiplier, plus we get the opportunity to use some of their specialized tools for the trade, like, you know, gas. It’s something for a smaller department. For us, by the time we buy the gas, when we need to use the gas, it’s expired," said WCPD Chief Don Melton.

Operations first got underway in 2024 - and so far has handled 18 high-risk situations.