Major changes underway to fight against violent gun crimes in Kansas City

It’s no stretch to say violent crime in Kansas City, particularly gun crime, is far too high. Reducing that has been my top priority as Chief, and it’s a top priority for just about everyone else in law enforcement here and our partners in the local and federal government. More than anyone else, I also know it’s a top priority for our community.

I wanted to outline some of the changes we’ve made – along with our partners – to work with the community to prevent and solve violent crime.

Reward increase for homicide tips

One of the things I’m most excited about is the increase in the anonymous reward amount for successful homicide tips from $10,000 to $25,000 through Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers. This increase will be accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign to ensure everyone knows about it, especially in the areas where the most violent crime occurs. The City of Kansas City is making a substantial investment in this effort.

An amount like $25,000 can be life-changing for some, and our hope is that it will lead to justice for the families of murder victims. Beyond that, we believe it will have a deterrent effect. Maybe bringing a gun to settle an argument isn’t such a good idea with an incentive of $25,000 motivating those with information to come forward.

The population of Omaha, Neb., is only slightly smaller than Kansas City’s. Omaha has been offering a $25,000 reward for successful homicide tips for some time. Their city had only 20 homicides last year. Kansas City had 138. Reward money may not be the only factor, but it does appear to impact violent crime in Omaha.

We have proof more reward money leads to more tips. The reward for successful anonymous tips for Kansas City, Mo., homicides increased from $2,000 to $5,000 in November 2017, and then went up to $10,000 in April 2018. Crime Stoppers saw a 26% increase in homicide tips in the year those changes occurred. And though the increased reward was only applicable to KCMO homicides, the tips for homicide cases went up across the board for the whole metro area. Those increased tips meant more than double the average amount of homicides cleared through anonymous tips in the greater Kansas City area.

Changing the focus of Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA)

After extensive evaluation, KC NoVA switched its enforcement strategy in May from targeting group-related violence to targeting individuals who are frequently involved in violent, gun-related crimes. This approach has seen great success in cities like Tampa, which has had a dramatic reduction in violent crime. Although the number of these violent offenders is low, they are responsible for the vast amount of our violent crime. Research from Tampa identified that 6% of violent offenders were responsible for 60% of violent crime.

As a reminder, KC NoVA is a partnership between KCPD, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, The Jackson County Prosecutor, FBI, ATF, the Mayor’s Office and Missouri Probation and Parole.  NoVA accomplished its initial goal of reducing group-related violence. Since NoVA went into full effect in 2014, group-related homicides have dropped from 64% of all of our homicides to 37% of homicides. But homicides continue to be an issue in Kansas City, so we needed to adapt. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Safety Partnership spent 18 months with us evaluating NoVA and advising us on how we could move forward. The result is this new enforcement strategy that targets the trigger-pullers.

The social services component of KC NoVA will continue to help individuals find better futures that don’t involve crime or violence.

Stolen guns hurt everyone

We don’t just want to solve crimes after they happen. We want to prevent them from taking place. The Kansas City Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is working with Crime Stoppers and the City of Kansas City to offer  a reward of $500 to $1,000 for information regarding stolen guns and straw purchasers (guns purchased on behalf of someone who cannot legally possess a firearm, usually a felon).  

Guns are finding their way into crime through straw purchase, theft from vehicles, residential burglaries and thefts from gun shops. The ATF and the United States Attorney’s Office have an excellent record of bringing to justice those who break into area guns stores; however, those guns – like any stolen guns – hit the streets very quickly. We need the public’s help to find those guns, get them off of the streets BEFORE they can be used in crime, and hold those responsible for putting these guns on the streets, accountable. 

We believe the $500 to $1,000 reward for information leading to stolen guns, straw purchasers, and others using firearms illegally will help achieve those goals.

Crime Gun Intelligence Center

Since last fall, the Crime Gun Intelligence Center has been working to analyze all gun crimes in Kansas City and link them forensically. The Center is a task force composed of KCPD detectives, officers from the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department and ATF agents all working in the same location. Just three years ago, it took nine to 12 months to get forensic analysis back on some gun crimes. Thanks to a federal grant that led to the Crime Gun Intelligence Center, this now happens in 24 to 48 hours.

The forensic linking is a tool to guide detectives in a direction. Detectives still have to put the pieces together. Firearms change hands quickly, especially after a gun crime occurs, but we have better tools than ever now to link guns to crimes, which leads us to linking people to crimes.

Community Outreach

As I have previously mentioned, we added social workers at each of our six patrol division stations and doubled the number of Community Interaction Officers at each station. The intent of this was to address a lot of issues before they escalated into violence. The social workers link people to resources who might otherwise turn to crime to meet their needs. They are particularly focused on youth issues.

Community Interaction Officers address long-term neighborhood issues. They also work to strengthen communities through block watch programs, crime prevention through environmental design and building relationships with the police department. Empowered, connected, organized neighborhoods are the greatest crime deterrent our city has.

Because ultimately, we can have all the rewards and programs in the world, but little will change without the community’s involvement. You are the best crime-fighting resource we have, and we are honored to protect and serve alongside you.    

Our city is tired of the senseless violence that has altered so many lives. Today, this police department and our many partners are sending a clear message that the illegal and senseless use of firearms must stop. As a city, we can do better and we must. Our message to our great city is that everyone has an opportunity to reduce violence. If you know violence is about to happen, speak out. If you know someone who has been involved in violent acts, speak out. We do not have to accept violence!

Defacement of National Word War l Memorial and other buildings will not be tolerated

Shortly before 1 a.m. last night, June 18, two men defaced one of Kansas City’s greatest treasures. On the north side of the National World War I Memorial and Museum, suspects spray-painted sentiments about a 1986 conflict in Peru and a communist symbol. They painted large red X’s of the faces of the World War I generals. A passerby saw them and called police. The driver yelled at them, and they ran off.

This is just the latest in what we believe to be three other vandalism incidents perpetrated by the same people. It is also the most destructive. We believe the same people also have defaced a church, a bridge and a vacant building in different parts of the city last night, too.

This is America, and everyone is entitled to their political beliefs. You can protest about them, you can write a blog like me or you can petition for change. What you cannot do is harm others or property in the expression of those beliefs. Nothing is gained from graffiti on a church.

To desecrate the National World War I Memorial and Museum is both illegal and stupid. It insults the tens of thousands of men who gave their lives so that we might continue to have the right to express our political beliefs. Who knows what kind of oppressive government we might be living under had those men not given their lives?

We, as a police department, will not tolerate the desecration of one of the most beloved landmarks in Kansas City, and we know the community won’t either. We are canvassing the area for possible video evidence and encourage anyone with information to contact the TIPS Hotline online or call 816-474-TIPS (8477).

We have some solid leads and continue to investigate.

Proactive work with at-risk teens yields positive results

Most of what the public sees our officers doing is reactive: showing up after something bad already has happened. There is a lot of proactive work going on behind the scenes, however, and one of those initiatives starts today. Today is the first day of this summer’s Teens in Transition program, a partnership that aims to put at-risk youth on track for a positive future.

Teens in Transition is a partnership between the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, Kansas City No Violence Alliance and local artists. It started in the summer of 2014. KCPD officers who work as School Resource Officers (SROs) in Kansas City Public Schools and school staff in the Hickman Mills School District help select students ages 14 to 17 who they think could benefit from the program. Many of these students have had negative contact with police, but not all of them. They are teens who are on the fence about which direction their life is going to go.

We meet with them and their families to outline the expectations of the program. They fill out an application. The first three days are an evaluation period to determine whether the teens are a good fit. Police, program directors and teens will work together this week to create a student agreement of behavior. Teens are urged to be careful about whom they should associate with over the summer and are told negative contact with police could result in being asked to leave the program.

So what happens at Teens in Transition? The teens meet three days weekly from now until Aug. 9. During that time, they hear from a variety of guest speakers – the Jackson County Prosecutor, the Mayor, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Kansas City Division, me and many others. They learn about conflict resolution and skills for employment. They get a free meal and a snack. And they work collaboratively on an art project. They get paid above minimum wage for their work, too. And on their paydays, they learn about financial literacy. The Mayor’s Office funds the program.

In years past, the teens’ artwork has been auctioned off. One piece hangs in the lobby of our East Patrol Division. Last year, they created murals to be featured in scenery in the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s production of “West Side Story.” Those murals will travel to other productions of the musical in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York City.

Throughout the program, the teens are shepherded by KCPD School Resource Officers. The SROs are there with the teens every day, providing guidance and mentorship and breaking down misconceptions the teens might have had about law enforcement. It’s interesting to see the change throughout the program. The teens are usually very standoffish in the beginning, but at the end, they and the SROs seem like old friends.

Teens in Transition will take place in two locations this year: at Arts Tech downtown and at Hope Hangout across from Ruskin High School. Forty students are slated to start at Arts Tech, and 25 at Hope Hangout.

In the past four years of the program, 210 teens started it, and 73% completed it. Of those who completed the program, two-thirds have since had no negative contact with police. We view that as a huge win and an indication that proactive programs like this work. KC NoVA social workers also stay in touch with the teens after the program, and the SROs see them and keep up with them when they go back to school.

You may just see us responding to 911 calls, but rest assured that there is a lot of proactive work going on behind the scenes. Through police and teens building relationships, a new generation is trusting and more apt to work with police. This makes Kansas City’s future safer and brighter for everyone.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.