Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Annual report statistics show 12.5 percent drop in violent crime from 2009 to 2010


The KCPD 2010 Annual Report now is available for you to download in .pdf format. It contains information about the department’s organizational structure, 2010 crime statistics, personnel and salary statistics, department highlights and photos.

A big highlight is the drop in violent crime outlined on page 31 of the report. Our statistics, which have been verified by the state and FBI (in fact, several of our numbers are a little higher than the FBI's preliminary report because some of the cases got reclassified with further investigation, and we wanted to show as accurate a count as possible), show a 12.5 percent drop in violent crime from 2009 to 2010. Many people in Kansas City like to throw around words like the "City's rising crime rate," but it's simply not true. Crime has been falling in Kansas City since the early 1990s. Property crime remained nearly static from 2009 to 2010, with an increase of 0.1 percent. The only types of crimes that saw notable increases were arson and embezzlement.

These numbers are contrary to the scary rhetoric bandied about by those who seek to instill fear. I urge you to check out the report and see it for yourself. Kansas City is getting safer year after year.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.