KCPD Chief

Setting goals for better response times

2012-02-02T11:52:00.000-06:00

We track a lot of performance measures, but one that the public feels most acutely is response times. The time between when someone calls 911 and help arrives may just be a few minutes, but it can feel like an eternity. We are dedicated to getting our officers to the public’s aid as quickly as possible, which is why we’re implementing new goals for response times.

We have now reduced our goal from Priority 1 calls to 7 minutes (down from 10 minutes). The new goal for priority 2 calls is now 9 minutes (down from 12 minutes). These measure from the time someone places a call to 911 to the time an officer arrives on scene.

Priority 1 calls are those that present extreme, known or potential danger to human life. These include officer-assist incidents, shootings, injury accidents, explosions, rape, robbery, hold-up alarms and calls in which the nature is not known. Priority 2 calls are those for which the potential for injuries to occur exists but has not yet happened, such as prowlers, burglaries, bomb threats and disturbances.

We wanted our new response time goals to show how important it is to us that officers arrive at emergencies as quickly as possible. We also want the goals to more accurately reflect our performance. It is incredibly rare that it takes officers 10 minutes to respond to a Priority 1 call. In December 2011, we met the 7-minute goal for Priority 1 calls 79 percent of the time. Our median response time was 7.67 minutes.

KCPD began tracking response times in 2000. A lot of things have an impact on them, such as road conditions, weather, and how many officers are in training or out sick. Generally, response times are shorter in the inner-city patrol divisions and higher in the suburban patrol divisions. This is because the suburban divisions are geographically much larger than those in the urban core, so officers in the suburbs face longer drives to get to their calls for service.

In November 2011, we changed the way we track response times. We were tracking the time from when the 911 call-taker transferred the call to the police dispatcher, but now start tracking from the earlier time of when the call is received by the 911 call-taker. (When someone calls 911 in Kansas City, Mo., they first talk to a call-taker. That call-taker gathers the information from the caller and inputs it into our computer-aided dispatching system. The dispatcher then takes that information and relays it to officers on the street by radio. The officers also see some of the information call-takers and dispatchers have input into the computer system.) We wanted to ensure we were tracking the appropriate number and were transparent with our performance in that area, so as of November 2011, we have corrected our computer system to track response times from the second someone calls 911 (this even includes any time the caller might be put on hold).

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Two-year-old data: don't panic about "Black Homicide Victimization in the United States" report

2012-01-25T20:00:00.002-06:00

A report released today by the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., is causing undue waves by stating Missouri leads the nation in black homicide victims. The report was compiled using 2009 homicide data from law enforcement agencies. It does not include any reference to homicides that occurred in 2010 or 2011. This report is based on old numbers, and while we can’t discount it, we need to focus on moving forward.

Dredging up old data does nothing to help improve the situation. We can sit around and bemoan the violence and complain about inequality, or we can do something to fix it. Rest assured I am concerned about the victimization of any person regardless of race, age, sex or ethnicity. That’s why we’re adjusting our policing strategies: focusing on where crime happens most and who is most likely to commit it.

One homicide is one homicide too many. We shouldn’t be satisfied as a community even if our homicide rate dropped by 50 percent. It would still have an impact on victims’ families, neighborhoods, economic development and so much more.

The numbers stated in the Violence Policy Center’s report don’t paint an accurate picture about black homicides. In addition to using 2-year-old data, it pulls its numbers from local-level law enforcement agencies, not from FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data. (UCR data is the nationwide law enforcement standard.) Many of these agencies count homicides differently than Kansas City Police do. They don’t include homicides that have been ruled as self defense or accidental. Kansas City does. We count every time one person dies at the hand of another, even officer-involved shootings. Kansas City had 114 homicides in 2011, eight of which were ruled self defense and four of which were ruled accidental. So take those out, and it looks like Kansas City had just 102 homicides in 2011, and significantly fewer black victims. But we want to be transparent with our numbers.

Here are the facts about black homicides in Kansas City, including 2010 and 2011 data, which the report did not analyze:

• In 2009, there were 110 homicides, 81 of which were black victims (73.6%)
• In 2010, there were 106 homicides, 79 of which were black victims (74.5%)
• In 2011, there were 114 homicides, 88 of which were black victims (77.2%)
• So far in 2012, there have been 7 homicides, 5 of which were black victims (71.4%)

Our numbers also show that not only are most homicide victims in Kansas City black, so are the suspects. The vast majority of homicides are intra-racial. A national study that examined homicides from 1976 to 2005 found that 94 percent of black victims were killed by black suspects. In 2011, 71 percent of known homicide suspects in Kansas City were black.

It is a disservice to the residents of Kansas City to dwell on the 2-year-old data covered in the Violence Policy Center’s report. A number of factors contribute to the black homicide rate – racial and socioeconomic inequality, narcotics and less-than-adequate conflict resolution skills – and a number of things will be necessary to change it. Many of those are things that cannot be repaired by police. It is imperative on the entire community to contribute to solutions.

No matter what race you are, Kansas City is a safe place if you don’t exhibit high-risk behaviors by being involved in or associating with those who are involved in violent crime and narcotics distribution. Let’s continue looking forward to make our city even safer.

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Memorial service, bench honor officer killed in 1924

2012-01-23T15:17:00.002-06:00

The Kansas City Police Department has a long, and at times, tragic history. The Trail of Heroes was created to remember and honor those who have given their lives in the service of this city. Sometimes it's heartening when someone takes the time and resources to honor someone who many have forgotten about. That was the case this past New Year's Day. Check out the story about it in our January Informant newsletter.

Officer Dennis Coates read the bench dedication letter to Sgt. Dennis Whalen’s great-nieces MaryBeth Daigneaux and Margaret Ann Frick.

A bench on the Trail of Heroes – funded by an anonymous donor – was dedicated to an officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty 88 years ago this past New Year’s Day.

Sergeant Dennis Whalen was shot on New Year’s Eve 1923 and died in the hospital on New Year’s Day 1924 after attempting to arrest suspects in the death of another officer killed in 1913.

According to the Police Memorial web site, it all started with two suspects wanted for killing KCPD Patrolman Homer Riggle on Feb. 20, 1913. Patrolman Riggle was shot and killed by two robbery suspects who overpowered him during an arrest and killed him with his own weapon. Three months later on April 30, 1913, Officer Andrew Lynch was in a pharmacy at 9th street and Benton Boulevard when he recognized the suspects. The two men, John Tatman and Samuel Sherman, fled. Officer Lynch chased them and a running gun battle broke out. Lynch was shot five times. He died five days later of his wounds. He had been on the department just six years and was 38 years old. That same day in April 1913, Sergeant Dennis Whalen was responsible for capturing the two men who killed Officer Andrew Lynch and Patrolman Homer Riggle.

Eleven years later, Sgt. Whalen was shot at age 57 by a bandit at 1549 East 18th street and died New Year’s Day 1924. Some sources say the man who killed him was an additional suspect wanted in the murders of Patrolman Riggle and Officer Lynch.

Sergeant Dennis Whalen joined the police department in 1889. Throughout his 34-year career, he served as a beat patrolman, a special guard, and an executive officer.

It is known, after Sgt. Whalen’s death, his wife Anna Whalen gathered all the gold and silver jewelry Dennis had given her over the years and had it melted into a chalice in honor of him. Years later, that same chalice was found at St. Therese Little Flower Parish at 58th and Euclid with an engraving on the bottom saying, “In loving memory of Dennis Whalen, by his wife Anna Whalen.”

A Catholic Mass and Memorial was held for Sgt. Dennis Whalen and to honor those who put their lives in danger for others on January 1, 2012 at St. Therese Little Flower Parish. Sgt. Whalen and Ann’s great- nieces, sisters MaryBeth Daigneaux and Margaret Ann Frick, said they were honored to receive the letter that Officer Dennis Coates read, stating that a bench from the Kansas City Missouri Police Department’s Trail of Heroes was anonymously dedicated in his name.

Mike Arndt, Operations Manager, said, “Sgt. Whalen’s bench will be the 11th bench honoring those who have died in the line of duty and the 21st bench overall.”

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Tactical Response Teams are centralizing

2012-01-19T14:33:00.000-06:00

Today, I informed KCPD employees that our three Tactical Response Teams (you may know them as SWAT teams) will consolidate into one Tactical Response Division effective this Sunday, Jan. 22. Presently, Tactical Teams 1, 2 and 3 are stationed at the Central, Metro and East patrol divisions, respectively. Consolidating them gives them one command structure and will allow for increased efficiency for the deployment of tactical resources. All 45 officers on Tactical squads will now report to one major who has tactical experience. This major, Philip Lawler, was reassigned from another unit.

This centralization will allow us to focus our efforts in different parts of the city based on need and not just geography. And the South, Shoal Creek and North patrol divisions will now have more access to tactical resources than they ever did before. Tactical officers can be moved from area to area without having to get permission from other commanders.

The majority of Tactical officers we’ve heard from are in favor of this new structure. It gives them more freedom to go where they’re needed and cut through red tape. We’re still working out some logistics, such as where the Tactical Operations Division will operate from.

The Street Crimes Unit Tactical Team will not be part of the centralization. It will continue to work with others in the Narcotics and Vice Division to target drug-related crimes throughout the city.

Centralizing the Tactical Response Teams is just one way we’re doing more with less. I am cognizant of our current budget situation and that we must do the best we can with the tax dollars we’ve been given. I will continue to look at ways to increase efficiencies without adding additional staff. You’ll likely see more re-assigning of positions to elements where staffing is most needed.

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Staff inspection commanders are street-level coaches

2012-01-18T14:14:00.000-06:00

This story from our monthly Informant newsletter explains the staff inspection commander positions I implemented when I became chief. These majors help me know what's happening on the street, both with officers and with major crimes and crime trends. Check out the story below:

Major Melvin Harvey and Officer Charles Chambers tried to dispurse suspected drug activity in a park.

The title might be intimidating, but the department’s two new staff inspection commanders aren’t out to check whether officers are polishing their shoes.

“They’re street coaches and counselors,” Chief Darryl Forté called them.

Forté assigned majors Anthony Ell and Melvin Harvey to the new staff inspection positions when he was named chief in October 2011. Since that time, the majors have been out trying to assist officers on the ground and facilitate community relationships.

“They are two well-respected, high-ranking commanders who are basically the eyes and ears of the command staff,” Forté said. “They’re not to be the watch dogs of the police department. They’re the first phase of organized community policing. They can set the tone for others as leaders.”

Majors Ell and Harvey acknowledged not many department members understand what their position entails.

“At the early onset, people thought I’d be doing a lot of inspecting,” Major Ell told the Board of Police Commissioners. “I think they’ve gotten more comfortable seeing what I do.”

Major Harvey concurred.

“The unknown scares them,” he said. “I’m more of a support role. And I get out and talk to the community and see what their concerns are.”

Major Harvey said he spends two to three hours every day checking in with community members. They often call him with concerns, too, often about their perception of how police handled a situation.

“I get the officer’s side of the story, and see if we can come to an understanding about why the officer is doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” Harvey said.

Chief Forté said members of the community are largely comfortable coming to Ell and Harvey with their concerns.

“Between the two of them, they know everyone in the city,” Forté said.

Harvey said he’s also there to assist officers however they might need it, especially if they need other elements to respond and don’t have time to send their request through the chain of command.

“I can get them through the red tape,” Harvey said.

Major Ell did just that when a barber was killed during a robbery on Nov. 16, 2011. A witness saw someone flee from the scene into a nearby apartment building. Officers on scene needed help securing the building so they could track down the possible suspect, so Major Ell got a tactical squad there quickly. Two suspects were apprehended and charged two days later.

Ell said his duties vary greatly.

“On certain days, I may roll up on an accident, and you may see me conducting traffic on 19th and Broadway while officers work the accident,” Ell said.

Harvey said he also does pro-active work, like helping a grocery store owner at 39th and Kensington get rid of people who are dealing drugs behind his store.

But both Ell and Harvey said they respond to major incident calls, speaking with officers on scene. Harvey said he sometimes uses this opportunity to coach officers and advise them. He said he’s not out to get anyone and hasn’t written up a single officer.

Chief Forté said staff inspection commanders were around when he first joined the department, and he doesn’t want the position to be the same as it was then.

“The perception was they were out to capture you doing something wrong, but this isn’t like that,” he said. “We want them to develop relationships with the rank and file. They’re out there every day, making calls with them and talking to residents and businesses.”

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Police bust Northland businesses selling synthetic drugs

2012-01-13T18:00:00.006-06:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City Police and other law enforcement agencies busted two Northland businesses today for selling synthetic narcotics.

Officers with the Synthetic Drug Task Force served search warrants at Discount Smokes at 2518 NE Vivion Road and the Shell Station at Vivion and Antioch roads. They arrested store employees and recovered synthetic drugs such as “plant food,” “syn,” “K2,” and “bath salts.”

Police recovered approximately 1,100 grams of suspected synthetic drugs, several thousand dollars worth of drug paraphernalia and a loaded firearm. Four people were arrested and face multiple charges for the sale of controlled substances.

“These stores and their management had been warned multiple times,” KCPD Captain Chelly Pfeifer said. “They were presented with letters from the Clay County prosecutor outlining that the substances were illegal.”

Kansas City Police have been investigating the stores targeted in today’s search warrants for as long as 10 months.

Missouri legislators banned synthetic narcotics in August 2010. The drugs have been found to be chemically similar to marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and other illegal substances. They cause significant physical harm and psychosis that can lead to injury or suicide.

The multi-jurisdictional Synthetic Drug Task Force convened in November 2011 to combat the continuing sales of illegal synthetic drugs. The Task Force includes the Kansas City, Gladstone and North Kansas City police departments; Platte and Clay County sheriff’s departments; the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office; and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Captain Chelly Pfeifer is president of the Northland Coalition – an organization dedicated to creating healthy and drug-free communities. The Coalition heard from a woman whose son nearly died from using synthetic drugs and still suffers significant physical problems. Talking to teenagers involved in the Northland Coalition, she learned many knew other teens who used the drugs and knew where to get them.

“I said, ‘We have to do something,’” she said. “… Our kids are getting involved in this stuff. They have the notion if it’s sold in a gas station, it’s OK. It’s ‘herbal.’ But it has devastating effects.”

Sergeant Brad Dumit of KCPD’s Vice Section said he wanted today’s actions against the stores selling the synthetic drugs to convey it will not be tolerated.

“We want to send the message that selling these things is illegal,” he said. “It’s illegal to possess it, distribute it and sell it.”

Capt. Pfeifer said the efforts of the Synthetic Drug Task Force will be ongoing.

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Commanders on the streets

2012-01-06T09:45:00.000-06:00

The new year has brought a new requirement for command staff on the police department. I have asked all commanders who are not assigned to patrol operations in the field to spend time out on the streets. All commanders (captains, majors, deputy chiefs and me) must now complete one evening shift and one over-night shift in patrol every six months. I want the command staff to remain familiar with activities out in the field and with street-level officers. Since I was named chief, I also have required a deputy chief to respond to every homicide scene. I have been to all but two.

The members of the Kansas City Police Department need to be in touch with the community we serve, and that applies to the highest-ranking people in our organization. Staying behind a desk all the time doesn’t allow for the citizen engagement that is necessary to build trust and relationships.

Additionally, commanders need to know the issues that are facing our city and our officers. They need to be aware of trends in crime and violence. They need to know if officers are experiencing issues that need addressing – anything from problems with computers in their cars to nuisance properties to morale.

So expect to see a little more brass on the streets in 2012.

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Neighborhood Prosecution Teams

2012-01-03T13:32:00.000-06:00

I’ve been writing about our hot spot policing practices for a while now, and it’s time I thank one of our big partners in it: The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office Neighborhood Prosecution Project. Two prosecution teams are in place now – one in the area of 27th and Prospect and one along Independence Avenue.

The teams are composed of at least two assistant prosecutors and an investigator. They’re doing what I’ve also encouraged KCPD officers to do: get to know the residents and business people of the neighborhoods where they work. The Neighborhood Prosecution Teams have gone door to door in the areas they’re serving passing out fliers about what they’re doing and making contacts. They’re also visiting businesses, neighborhood associations and business associations. They’re letting the community know they’re available and getting to know the areas and people that are problematic.

We’ve also appreciated how closely they’ve worked with KCPD. In fact, some of the areas they serve overlap with parts of our hot spots. They keep in close contact with police assigned to those sectors. They’re prosecuting cases that might otherwise fall through the cracks at the state and municipal level. They’re also helping us deal with nuisance businesses and properties that are havens of criminal activity. A good example of this was the closing of the Green Duck Club in early November. The neighborhood prosecutors worked closely with police to build a case against the club, which is where a homicide and other violence took place in 2011 and where there were dozens of police calls for service and complaints of drug activity.

I really appreciate the resources Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has devoted to the Neighborhood Prosecution Project. These assistant prosecutors are taking on these cases in addition to their regular workload, but they realize how important it is to stop crime where it happens most. They also realize that police need the support of their partners in the criminal justice system and the members of the community to make Kansas City safer.

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2011 homicides

2011-12-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

Barring more tragedy today or tomorrow, Kansas City will wrap up 2011 with 114 homicides. Whether we have 114 or 75, that’s still too many. As I’ll discuss more in a bit, police can’t prevent many of these killings, but it is our duty to quickly apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice. So far, 69 homicides this year have been cleared, with an additional six cases awaiting review at the prosecutor’s office. That’s about a 66 percent clearance rate, which is better than this time last year, when we were below 50 percent.

We’re analyzing every single homicide within 24 hours of occurrence. Since I have taken office as chief, I have gone to every homicide scene but two. We’ve noticed increased citizen cooperation in solving these crimes. On Christmas Eve, as a matter of fact, a citizen came forward with a great description of the suspect who killed Darnell Pearson at 43rd and Harrison. With that description, police were able to apprehend the suspect within minutes. Had that witness not stepped forward, the killer very likely would still be on the loose.

I also would like to thank the members of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department – the officers and the support staff – who give their all every day to find and stop those who perpetrate crime in our city. Police cannot solve homicides alone, however. Community participation is vital, as is the cooperation of others in the criminal justice system. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office is working with us on our hot spot initiative (more on that to come soon), and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department also is assisting us with resources in crime hot spots. Additionally, City Codes Enforcement and the City Manager’s office have been very helpful in their willingness to demolish unstable structures where criminal activity persistently takes place. I thank them for making the removal of these buildings a priority.

But many of these killings law enforcement can never prevent. In October of this year, Kansas City had just two homicides, but in November there were 17. KCPD did nothing substantially different from one month to the next, yet murders increased more than eight-fold. Additionally, 12 out of November’s 17 homicides took place within structures – mostly residences – and 4 were in cars. The only homicide that happened outside was when police shot and killed a homicide suspect who was firing at them. I point this out not only to say there is little police can do alone to prevent many of the city’s murders (we can’t be at your dinner table when a fight breaks out) but also to show that these crimes aren’t random. In the vast majority of our homicides, the victims and suspects knew each other.

The average, law-abiding Kansas City resident needn’t be fearful. Lifestyle has a significant impact on your chance of becoming a victim. If you are involved in criminal activity or associate with those who are, you are more likely to be killed or shot. Kansas City had more than 1,000 aggravated assaults with firearms in 2011, accounting for more than 500 injuries. Had those bullets landed a little differently, they, too, could have been homicides. But like homicide victims, many of those shot in 2011 were leading very risky lifestyles.

Many of Kansas City’s killings are simply the results of poor conflict resolution skills. Detectives have identified motives in 69 of this year’s homicides. Of those 69, nearly a third – 22 – were arguments. A simple dispute in which someone ended up dead.

Reducing violent crime will require the involvement of the entire community. Police can’t do it alone. We greatly appreciate those residents, business owners, faith leaders, organizations and others who have partnered with us in these prevention and apprehension efforts. As for what police can do, the hot-spot policing strategy is something I knew needed to be done immediately, but there will be other, more long-term strategies coming into place in the future.

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Suspects sought in multiple robberies

2011-12-29T10:33:00.000-06:00

We're looking for two men who may be responsible for multiple robberies in the past few weeks, including four at Church's Chicken restaurants. Below are surveillance videos from two of those robberies, the most recent on Dec. 27 at 11500 Blue Ridge (the second time it was robbed) and the second at 9325 Blue Ridge on Dec. 16. The suspects are about 6 feet tall and wear dark, hooded jackets. If you have information, you could get a financial reward by calling the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

A big thank you to the J.B. Reynolds Foundation

2011-12-22T11:58:00.000-06:00

I want to say a big thank you to the J.B. Reynolds Foundation, which has an annual tradition of making the holidays merrier for the non-profits that support the KCPD. This year, Web Bixby of the J.B. Reynolds Foundation presented checks to the Police Athletic League, KCPD CARE Team and Friends of the Mounted Patrol totaling more than $22,500. That's $2,800 more than the Foundation donated last year. Here's a little more about the charities the money will support:

PAL
The mission of PAL is to offer youth the opportunity to interact with police officers in a positive setting while participating in cultural, mentoring and sports programs, with the main emphasis placed on academics. At the 1801 White PAL Center, inner-city children participate in everything from tutoring to basketball to boxing to computer classes, all for little to no cost. PAL is a nonprofit organization supervised by KCPD officers.

Captain James Thomas accepted the $10,000 check on behalf of PAL from Web Bixby.

CARE Team

The KCPD CARE Team is a non-profit organization that assists members of KCPD and their families in times of need.

Supervisor and KCPD Victim Advocate accepted the $7,500 check on behalf of the CARE Team.

Friends of the Kansas City Missouri Mounted Patrol

This organization was formed with the purpose of supporting KCPD's Mounted Patrol Section by providing funds for additional training, equipment and veterinary care for the Section's horses.

Major Anthony Ell of the Patrol Bureau accepted the Mounted Patrol Check of $5,000.

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Check out the latest Narcotics and Vice Quarterly newsletter

2011-12-21T13:13:00.000-06:00

The newest edition of the Narcotics and Vice Quarterly newsletter is available online. This newsletter lets you know about trends in drug and drug-related crimes in Kansas City. This edition features stories about the resurgence of heroin in Kansas City, where you can drop off old prescription drugs, a profile of the Metro Meth Section, the latest synthetic drug and statistics on drugs and weapons recovered in the third quarter of 2011. Check it out here.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police release sketches of suspect in sexual assault of 71-year-old woman

2011-12-19T11:43:00.000-06:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City Police are releasing two composite sketches of a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 71-year-old woman multiple times Dec. 15.

At about 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15, a man confronted the woman in her home in the 3200 block of East 10th Street. He remained in her apartment and repeatedly sexually assaulted her over the course of several hours.

The victim worked with a forensic sketch artist and detectives to produce two sketches of the suspect: one of his face, and one of unique scarring on his left arm. He is described as a “wiry” black male approximately 35 to 40 years old who is about 6 feet tall and 165 to 175 pounds. He is bald but wore a black silk cloth tied around his head. He has a medium complexion, brown eyes, and a goatee and mustache. The victim said the suspect is soft-spoken and has a lower voice. He was wearing black clothing. He also has two scars on his left forearm that appeared to be from burns.

Anyone with information in the case is urged to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Please note: A composite is not a portrait of one person, but a grouping of characteristics to put people into a category that narrows the search and eliminates other groups. It is intended to place the focus on a smaller grouping of individuals.

Officers honored for helping homeless woman get home, income

2011-12-16T14:42:00.000-06:00

Today I presented a Certificate of Commendation to two officers who really went above and beyond. They helped a homeless woman get a home and income. Here's their story:

In April of this year, Officers Kenny Miller and Doug Harr came in contact with Teresa, a homeless woman begging for money and living under a bridge. Officers Miller and Harr asked Teresa how she had gotten to this point in her life. She said that her husband, who spent eight years in the military, had died two years ago. That left her with no income, and she lost her house. She had applied for his death benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2009 but never heard back from them.

Officers Miller and Harr followed up, contacting the appropriate people at Veterans Affairs. They found that Teresa had applied for the benefits but her case was closed because the VA could not find her. They then were told that if they could provide the VA with Teresa’s marriage certificate, the case could be re-opened and processed. Realizing she had some cognitive disabilities, the officers went to work helping Teresa with the necessary paperwork.

They contacted the Platte County records clerk, got Teresa’s marriage license mailed to Central Patrol Division, and gave her a ride to the VA to work with a benefits specialist who re-opened her case. The dedication and persistence of these two officers allowed Teresa to get what she was entitled to: more than $650 a month in benefits with several months of back pay.

Officers Miller and Harr did not stop there. They continued to assist Teresa with every phone call, coordinating all necessary paperwork and getting her in touch with Assertive Community Outreach for case management and supportive housing services. Teresa now has her own apartment and sent Officers Harr and Miller Christmas cards.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Pitch profile

2011-12-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

Pitch Magazine's Jonathan Bender wrote a nice profile on me that's out this week. I appreciate the chance to get my message out there and hope part of the headline, "A city without victims," comes to pass. You can read the story here.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

KCPD escorts Secret Santa

2011-12-14T14:30:00.000-06:00

Every year around this time, officers of the Kansas City Police Department get the privilege of escorting Kansas City's Secret Santa. They did so yesterday. This generous Santa has picked up where the original Secret Santa left off. Larry Stewart passed away in 2007 after leaving a legacy of helping those who were down and out throughout the city by passing out money to them around Christmas time.

This year, Santa even let Mayor Sly James and some of the officers help out as elves yesterday. You can see more pictures in the album on our Facebook page.

The officers and Santa - we've gotta keep him secret!

Santa let our officers pass out some money to deserving people, too.

Police escort and provide protection for Secret Santa and his elves when they distribute money.

Operation Safe Holiday targets property crimes north of the River

2011-12-13T13:16:00.000-06:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Detectives and officers in the Shoal Creek and North patrol divisions are conducting a multi-faceted project this week to target property crimes offenders and educate the public about how to avoid being victims.

Operation Safe Holiday will target suspects of property crimes and educate the public on theft prevention Dec. 12 to 15.

A large reason for the project is to stop the increase police typically see in cars stolen when the weather turns cold. Sergeant Daniel Graves of the Shoal Creek Property Crimes Section said many are stolen when left on and unattended.

“As the weather has changed, we’ve seen a big increase in stolen vehicles where people left them running to warm up,” he said.

To prevent this, police will be out at convenience stores (a common place vehicles are left running unattended) to issue warnings and possibly citations to drivers who leave their vehicles on with no one inside. City Ordinance 70-251 bans leaving a vehicle running unattended.

Officers also will be out at major Northland retail areas passing out tips to keep cars from being broken into. Thefts from vehicles usually rise during the holidays but are easily preventable. Citizens should not leave items of value in their vehicles.

Finally, officers will be working with area residents on burglary prevention. At residents’ requests, police will conduct security surveys of residents’ homes to show them ways to prevent crime such as proper door locks, lighting, and recording serial numbers of valuable items.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police give back

2011-12-09T12:01:00.001-06:00

Another great article from our December Informant newsletter explaining the generosity of a few KCPD members:

The small acts of kindness police do every day rarely make headlines: buying a meal for a hungry child, finding homes for stray animals, helping someone with home repair.

But as the season of giving approaches, it’s worth pointing out just a few stories of the generosity of KCPD members.

The gift of sight
Officer Shawnie Nix with the Police Athletic League (PAL) said she “tries to take care of my kids.” PAL provides after-school athletic and academic opportunities for at-risk children and teenagers in the urban core. Officer Nix coaches the boxing program. Her supervisor, Sergeant Brad Deichler, said she has a huge heart, buying the girls she coaches Christmas gifts, meals and taking them to Chiefs and Royals games – all out of her own pocket.

Officer Nix noticed that 13-year-old Dakota Masquat was having trouble seeing the exercises written on the board in the gym. Dakota boxes at PAL four nights a week, and Officer Nix asked her if she had trouble seeing at school, too. The girl admitted she couldn’t see the board well there, either. But Officer Nix knew there was little chance Dakota would get the vision care she needed because she lives with her grandmother, who is disabled, lives on a restricted income and has no form of transportation.

So Officer Nix took it upon herself to find a way to get Dakota glasses. She did some research and found the One Sight organization was going to be in town in November. The non-profit provides vision care and glasses to those who can’t afford it. They brought a mobile unit to Union Station, so on her day off, Nov. 9, Officer Nix picked up Dakota and took her to it. Dakota said she learned one eye had 20/40 vision, and the other 20/70. While she had glasses made to her specifications, she got to visit the exhibits at Union Station. She said she sees much better now and wears her glasses all the time in class.

When asked why she went to all the work for Dakota, Officer Nix said, “Because she needed it.”

Shattered glass
Detective Alane Booth of the Homicide Unit was doing her twice-yearly assignment in patrol with Officer Michael Feagans in Center Zone when they responded to a disturbance between neighbors Nov. 26. One couple had taken in a hungry dog and paid adoption fees to the city animal shelter, but teens down the street insisted the dog was theirs, and came threatening the couple. They called police and returned the dog to the teenagers. But the teens came back and threw a pick-axe in the windshield of the couple’s only vehicle, mad that they’d called police.

This made Booth and Feagans angry.

“They did nothing to bring this property damage on themselves – no drama or bad decision-making,” Detective Booth said. “I could just see their desire to help this poor dog, and all they got was backlash and retaliation.”

As they were taking the report, the officers learned the wife had epilepsy and possibly breast cancer and was scheduled for a mastectomy soon. Without a car, she couldn’t make it to her doctor’s appointments. Detective Booth told her she would do what she could to get their windshield replaced.

She searched charities online and eventually got in touch with a local television reporter, asking if he knew anyone who could help. He connected her with the Cars 4 Christmas organization, which connected her with someone who would go to the couple’s home and replace the windshield for free. Their windshield was replaced Dec. 1 at no cost.

But Detective Booth wanted to ensure the dog was taken care of, too. She notified Chain of Hope, an organization that works to end animal abuse and neglect in the inner city, to keep tabs on the dog’s welfare.

Above and beyond all year long
Three separate people notified the Media Unit of Crime Scene Technician Supervisor Melanie Bartch’s quiet, year-round generosity. On her own, she has adopted a homeless camp and collects and delivers items there on a monthly basis, including coats, pillows, socks, long underwear, hats, gloves, canned goods, bottled water, hand warmers and books.

When her son was serving in the military overseas, she gathered supplies to send not just to him but to his entire unit. When she heard about a soldier in the unit who had not received any mail since his deployment, she spread the word to ensure he got cards for the holidays.

She’s also rescued countless cats and dogs, finding them loving homes.

Her colleagues recognize her generosity.

“She is so giving to whomever and whatever,” one said. “She has a big heart and is constantly helping others.”

So many more
Every day, members of the Kansas City Police Department do something to help the suffering they encounter. Many have adopted needy families for Christmas. Others are helping organize a city-wide Christmas day dinner for the elderly and lonely who have nowhere else to go. Some buy and deliver food to needy families. One officer organized a drive to help a family who lost everything in a November fire rebuild their lives. The officers of the PAL Unit have an annual Christmas party for children and teens who wouldn’t otherwise expect much under the tree. These acts of generosity aren’t written in any policies, they’re just ingrained into the people of the Kansas City Police Department.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Conservation Department thanks Mounted Patrol for help in managed park hunts, catching poacher

2011-12-08T14:23:00.000-06:00

PRESS RELEASE:

The Missouri Department of Conservation recognized the KCPD Mounted Patrol Section for their assistance in managed deer hunts in Swope Park.

Yesterday, the Conservation Department thanked the officers for their help monitoring managed archery hunts in 2010 and 2011 and apprehending a poacher. The Mounted Patrol’s stables are located in Swope Park and serve as a check-in station for the archery deer hunt, which this year runs from Nov. 7 to Dec. 31. So far in 2011, 27 deer have been checked in at the stables.

“Your amazing cooperation has taken a huge load off us,” Urban Wildlife Biologist Joe DeBold of the Missouri Department of Conservation told the Mounted Patrol officers.

DeBold also presented the officers with the mounted rack of a deer that was poached in Swope Park during October 2010. Two Mounted Patrol officers apprehended the suspect, who shot the deer with a bow while trespassing and when hunting was not allowed. The suspect was cited and prosecuted and had to forfeit the eight-point buck.

KCPD’s Mounted Patrol officers and the members of the Missouri Department of Conservation plan to continue their close working relationship in Swope Park and throughout Kansas City.

Police driving instructors to mentor students in car-building program

2011-12-06T14:52:00.001-06:00

Our December Informant newsletter has an interesting story about a collaboration between a group that seeks to teach inner-city kids skills by building electrical vehicles and the KCPD. Check out the story below and the video at the end:

What started as providing a set for a documentary film turned into a mentoring opportunity for the Kansas City Police Academy driving instructors.

This fall, owners and mentors from MINDDRIVE and a film crew from L.A., working for Translogic-AOL, did a film shoot at KCPD’s own Police Academy driving course, covering a story on MINDDRIVE’s car and program.

According to their web site, MINDDRIVE is a non-profit, after-school program for at-risk high school students that uses experiential learning methods administered by instructors and mentors.

MINDDRIVE inspires students to learn, expand their vision of the future and have a positive influence on urban workforce development. They achieve this by teaching the students how to build a car. By doing this, the students have progressed into welders, battery experts and even working with MINDDRIVE’s web site and social media.

After learning of MINDDRIVE and all the good it does for the urban core of Kansas City, the instructors from the Academy decided this would be a great opportunity to help.

“We have a community responsibility over and above fighting crime,” Director Rick Brisbin of the Special Projects Section said. “We want to be more of a role model for these kids.”

In addition to letting them test drive the car they built on KCPD’s driving course, the Academy driving instructors plan to put together a course for these students to teach them how to drive and prepare them to take their drivers’ license tests.

Those who are old enough to drive will definitely need their license. They are planning a coast-to-coast trip in March 2012. Project Reynard, MINDDRIVE’s second car, will be driven non-stop from San Diego, Calif., to Jacksonville, FL using quick-charge technology. They plan to split the trip into two segments and fly half of the students to San Diego who will travel to San Antonio, Texas. Then, they will fly home, and the other half will fly in and continue their trip to Jacksonville, Fla.

They hope to find a sponsor to send all of the students to Washington DC to have their car displayed at the Capital building at the end of their successful demonstration run.

“I feel that kids under the right tutelage can get more engaged,” added Brisbin. “This is one of the more inspiring things you will ever get to be a part of.”

MINDDRIVE Mentor and Marketing Strategist, Linda Buchner commented that, “Having a driver's license will give our students a lot more freedom as well as the potential for getting jobs. Many are old enough but haven't had the motivation to go ahead and get the license.”

And KCPD driving instructors will get to have a hand in pushing them toward that self-reliance.

To learn more about MINDDRIVE, visit their web site at http://minddrive.org.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Police addressing November homicide spike

2011-12-02T10:09:00.000-06:00

Our city saw an unusual spike in homicides in November, and I want you to know that your police department is working diligently to solve and prevent these crimes. I’ll be talking more about this next week and will lay out a more thorough analysis of the recent murders, but I want to share a little about them now and how we’re addressing them.

Three suspects were responsible for eight of November’s homicides, and those cases have been cleared. Another homicide resulted from officers shooting and killing one of the suspects of one of those multiple homicides when he fired at police. The majority of the month’s homicides were not drug or gang related. In fact, most of them have been solved.

Two things have been instrumental to finding and arresting the suspects in these killings. First, the cooperation of the community with police during homicide investigations has been vital. Second, resource deployment in hot spot areas has resulted in quick identification and then apprehension of suspects.

The hot spots have been on target – more than half of Novembers homicides happened in those neighborhoods. Although we continue to crack down in those parts of town, there has been no displacement of criminal activity as a result of the hot spot targeting. Within a week, we will deploy additional covert resources in the community.

I’m very appreciative of all members of the police department and other segments of the community for their efforts toward making Kansas City a safe place to live.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police offer free women's personal safety seminar on Saturday

2011-11-30T11:47:00.000-06:00

PRESS RELEASE:

For the first time, police are offering their four-hour Women’s Personal Safety Seminar for free this Saturday.

The course will be from 8 a.m. to noon Dec. 3 at the Kansas City Regional Police Academy, 6885 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road. Enrollment is open to females age 16 and older, but those younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Participation is limited to 50 women.

The four-hour class focuses on awareness, prevention, streetwise caution and self defense. Kansas City Police Academy instructors and other KCPD officers teach the class, which features hands-on activities, defensive tactics training and question-and-answer sessions.

The course will cover many topics, including: self defense techniques; identity theft prevention; and safety tips for the home, car, purses, shopping, exercising and more. Women from throughout the Kansas City metro area are invited to participate.

While the course is free, women are asked to register in advance by calling 816-413-3500 or e-mailing angela.mccune@kcpd.org.

Sixteen pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in Kansas City so far this year

2011-11-29T11:31:00.000-06:00

An alarming trend has emerged in our traffic fatality statistics so far this year: 16 pedestrians have been struck and killed in Kansas City. That’s a quarter of all our traffic deaths to date in 2011 (63 so far). Just six pedestrians were killed in 2010, which comprised only 9 percent of fatalities last year. And this is just people on foot. We count bicyclists separately.

We often urge drivers to be careful, but now I think it’s important to urge pedestrians to be very aware of traffic around them. Of the 16 pedestrian deaths so far this year, some numbers to consider:

• 4 cases occurred on limited-access highways (highways with entrance and exit ramps), and 2 of those involved persons tending to or exiting from disabled vehicles.

• 8 cases involved pedestrians who were either walking in or along the roadway.

• 6 cases involved people crossing the roadway, and 2 of those persons were within crosswalks.

• 7 cases involved pedestrians who were found to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Most disturbing, there have been four hit-and-run cases in which a pedestrian was killed and the person who hit them just drove away. Three of these four cases remain unsolved. Without witnesses, it can be very hard to get justice for these victims, so any information you have about any of the following cases would be very helpful:

Kelvin Brown – Age 47, struck at 11:54 p.m. May 13, 2011, by a dark-colored pick-up truck as he crossed Paseo at 44th Street

Debra Johnson – Age 50, struck by an unknown vehicle at 12:16 a.m. August 14, 2011, on E. 10th Street just west of Harrison

Wildrain Wildberry – Age 71, struck by a silver passenger car at 2:09 a.m. on Paseo near 45th Street.

Please call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477) if you have any information about the hit-and-run crashes that killed these people.

Walking during the day and in well-lit areas, using sidewalks and crosswalks, and avoiding alcohol and drugs are easy ways to protect yourself as a pedestrian. Also, do not walk on highways. Vehicles are traveling at very high speeds and often do not have time to stop if they see a pedestrian. Nearly everyone has a cell phone nowadays, so if your vehicle breaks down, please call for assistance rather than walking somewhere to get it.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Be safe during your holiday shopping

2011-11-28T11:21:00.000-06:00

With Black Friday behind us, holiday shoppers are out in full swing now. Officers from Shoal Creek Patrol Division will be out again this year conducting Operation Safe Holiday. They’ll be in the busy commercial districts along Missouri 152 Highway near Interstate 35 and at Chouteau and I-35 telling shoppers how to stay safe and not to leave valuables in their cars. They’ll be passing out holiday crime prevention information, which I’d like to share with you right now:

At home:

• Ensure all windows and doors are secure.
• Use lights inside and outside your home. Use timers and motion sensors.
• Tell your neighbors when you’ll be gone, and know when they’ll be away, too.
• Have neighbors or friends collect mail, newspapers and door hangers while you’re out of town.
• Keep gifts and packages out of view from open windows.
• Before you give that gift, record all serial numbers. In case it gets stolen, this will make it easier to track down and return.
• Keep bushes trimmed down to prevent hiding places and trees trimmed up for good visibility outside.
• Install deadbolt locks with a ¾-inch throw.
• Don’t leave garage doors open.
• Don’t park outside your home with the garage door opener visible.
• Use an alarm system, if you have one.

Out shopping

• Always lock your car with the windows up.
• Don’t leave anything of value in plain view in your vehicle.
• Lock items in the trunk of your car.
• Park in a well-lit area.
• Don’t leave your purse unattended in a shopping cart.
• Never leave your car unoccupied and running, even for short periods of time.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

New Community Support Division will reach out to those affected by violent crime

2011-11-22T14:07:00.000-06:00

One of the new divisions I created when I was named chief was the Community Support Division. It’s still in the development phase, but I think we can do a much better job of supporting the victims, families of victims and witnesses to violent crime. This was part of my strategic plan that I discussed with the Board of Police Commissioners when they interviewed me for the chief’s position.

We have bits and pieces of support here and there – like a domestic violence victim advocate who is a liaison with the Rosebrooks Center – but we need to provide more comprehensive customer service to those who have been affected by violent crime.

The need for this became especially evident to me when the mother of a friend of mine who was killed in a triple homicide called me up with no idea what to do about her son’s body or his funeral. That is something we should be able to help out with.

The new Community Support Division will combine department personnel, department chaplains, other clergy and volunteers to reach out to those who are hurting and scared and get them to the resources they need. In fact, the sergeant I’m assigning to the division also serves as a pastor. Some people think of police as intimidating people in uniform, but most of our officers are deeply caring and empathetic to the plight of victims and their families. The Community Support Division will seek to help those whose lives have been impacted by violent crime.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Bring your comments and concerns tomorrow

2011-11-18T09:38:00.000-06:00

Just a brief reminder that many of our department elements and I will be at the Bob Mohart Center (formerly the Linwood Multipurpose Center) at 3200 Wayne from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to hear your comments and concerns. I look forward to seeing you there!

Fighting homicides

2011-11-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

Since I was sworn in as Chief last month, my No. 1 goal has been to reduce violent crime. That includes solving those crimes and getting the offenders in custody as quickly as possible to prevent retaliation and additional acts of violence. In addition to the Homicide Unit, I have asked several other department elements to respond to homicide scenes, and they have begun to do so. This past weekend, when we experienced six homicides in 10 hours (a body found in a burned house, a double homicide, and a triple homicide), having those extra officers and detectives on-scene paid off.

One of the additional elements now having a representative respond to homicide scenes is the Street Crimes Unit. Their purpose is to gather information so they can assist the Homicide Unit in tracking leads and identifying and pursuing suspects as quickly as possible. They did just that on Friday and Saturday. As a result, with the help of our Career Criminal Squad, the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department and the ATF, they were able to track down and arrest the suspects in the double and triple homicides and are now pursuing other leads on the victim found dead in the burning home.

As I previously noted, following the six homicides, I called in additional officers who weren’t scheduled to work last weekend. It was those members from the aforementioned Street Crimes Unit squads that were out all weekend running down leads and successfully tracked down and arrested the suspects in five of the weekend’s six homicides.

The message I want to send to the citizens of Kansas City is that what we experienced last Friday and Saturday will not be tolerated or accepted as a fact of life in this city. Each incidence of homicide will be treated as a critical incident, and we will commit all the resources necessary to ensure our best chance of success in solving the crime and bringing those responsible to justice.

I want to thank all the officers and detectives who committed their time and efforts to identifying, locating and arresting the two homicide suspects believed to have killed five individuals over the weekend. Your excellent work and commitment to the residents of Kansas City have not gone unnoticed. I also want to thank those individuals who stepped forward and assisted us in identifying and locating the suspects. We will continue to need the assistance and cooperation of the citizens of Kansas City to reach our common goal as one community to significantly reduce violent crime and improve the quality of life for all of our residents.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Deadly weekend prompts deployment of more resources in hot spots

2011-11-15T13:53:00.000-06:00

This weekend was a tragic one in Kansas City: six homicides and another suspicious death under investigation. I lost a friend who I’ve known since I was 12 to the violence. Anthony Carlos Richardson was killed in a domestic violence-related triple homicide on Friday. We built a two-story club house together and called each other “brothers.” More recently, we talked every day on the phone, and I still have some of the inspiring text messages he often sent me in the mornings. I heard the pain in his mother’s voice on the phone this weekend, and I know the families of victims of violent crime are feeling the same hurt.

That’s why we are committed to continuing to go where the criminals are and stop them. We’ve been doing hot spot policing for almost a month now. This weekend’s homicides were a setback, but they will not deter us. I immediately deployed additional resources this weekend, including officers who weren’t scheduled to work. We watch crime data and gather intelligence information every day and will be adjusting our deployment as needed. As Mayor Sly James said about the hot spot approach at our press conference this weekend to address the violence, “We’re in the first inning of a baseball game here.”

But if anything good came out of the three separate homicide incidents this weekend, it’s that people came forward to give police information in each of them. Charges already have been filed in the triple homicide in which my friend was killed, and police are looking into good leads in the others. It’s too early to say whether this cooperation is indicative of a changing attitude toward the police, but I hope so. If you have any information, I ask you to contact police or the TIPS Hotline (816-474-TIPS).

My strategy of hot spot policing goes hand in hand with building relationships with the community. We’re seeking to go into neighborhoods, separate the offenders from the victims, and root out weapons. We don’t want to be heavy-handed, except with those who are causing the problems.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Public invited to share concerns, ideas with police at forum Saturday

2011-11-14T15:17:00.000-06:00

The residents of Kansas City are among the police department's best resources. That's why I want to keep in touch with them on a regular basis, starting with a forum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday. Check out the press release below, and I hope to see you there.

PRESS RELEASE:

Chief Darryl Forté invites the public to a forum Saturday to meet with various Kansas City Police Department elements and ask questions or voice their concerns.

The forum will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 19th in the Robert Mohart Multipurpose Center at 3200 Wayne Ave. The event will be structured so community members can speak one-on-one with commanders and officers as well as Chief Forté. Representatives of multiple KCPD units will be at tables to speak with the public. Some of those units include Homicide, Narcotics and Vice Division, Human Resources Recruiters, and each patrol division station. Residents are invited to ask questions and share their concerns about public safety and quality-of-life-related issues.

Chief Forté also will ask community members who have specific public safety problems they’d like to see addressed to sign a “Community Contract” with the KCPD. This contract will outline the mutually agreed upon action steps to be taken by police and residents to address the issue.

“It says we have a shared responsibility and individual accountability – both police and community members – for resolving problems,” Chief Forté said.

This is the first of several community forums Chief Forté hopes to conduct on a quarterly basis.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Honoring the military service of those on KCPD and everywhere

2011-11-10T16:53:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and the rest of the nation will observe Veteran’s Day. Our organization highly values military service. We have many veterans and active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces on our department, and they proudly wear a ribbon on their uniforms noting their service to our country. It is a wide green band with slim stripes of orange and gray on either end.

As we approach Veteran’s Day, I wanted to take the time to recognize those who are serving both our city and our nation at this very moment. A dozen KCPD officers are on military leave right now, many facing the dangers of combat in a foreign land. Please give a quick prayer or thought for the safety of these officers and for the loved ones who miss them back home.

Additionally, I want to thank all of those who have served in the military past and present. You have protected the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

It's only a test

2011-11-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

I want to make sure everyone in Kansas City is aware of the upcoming Emergency Alert System test on Wednesday so you know that it’s just a test and there is no reason to panic. You may hear these tests from time to time on the radio or on television, but until now all of the tests have been local. The first nationwide test will be in two days at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 9. The federal government is conducting the test “to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the system in alerting the public.”

According to the Federal Communications Commission, The Emergency Alert System is “a media communications-based alerting system that is designed to transmit emergency alerts and warnings to the American public at the national, Tribal, state and local levels. EAS participants broadcast alerts and warnings regarding weather threats, child abductions and other types of emergencies. EAS alerts are transmitted over television and radio broadcast, satellite television and satellite radio, cable television and wireline video services.” In Kansas City, you’ve probably heard the EAS during events such as tornadoes and Amber Alerts.

The nationwide test on Wednesday should tell you that it is only a test, but the FCC has warned us in some places that message may not get through. We have informed all of our staff of this test, so they will be aware in case someone contacts police thinking an actual emergency is taking place.

Please let others know about this test. For more information, see the FCC’s fact sheet.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

It's not all about the numbers

2011-11-07T15:19:00.000-06:00

As you might have seen in my earlier post, we compiled enforcement statistics in the violent crime hot spot areas we’re targeting. We tracked those carefully from Oct. 22 to 29, but I want to make sure that this isn’t a number-driven initiative. It also needs to be about community engagement. When something bad happens, police need to have solid relationships in place with citizens to help us.

The culture on this police department has long been that if you tell an officer he needs to arrest 15 people, he’ll go and arrest 15 people. I want to get away from that mindset and let our officers know that positive interactions with the public are just as important as how many felons they get off the street. That’s why, for this week, we’re going to take the statistic-driven model and turn it on its head.

Starting yesterday, Nov. 6, and lasting all week, we will be tracking the number of positive citizen contacts patrol officers have. This could be anything from knocking on doors to meet residents, stopping by talking to business owners, chatting with the folks at the barber shop or helping someone out by giving them directions. It could even be someone who gets a ticket but felt the officer did an excellent job and was very professional.

The community is our greatest asset in preventing and solving crimes, and building better relationships between the public and the police is one of my top priorities.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Progress in crime hotspots

2011-11-03T15:12:00.001-05:00

UPDATE, Nov. 7 :
A quick update to the stats I gave you below. Here are the full statistics for the hot spots from Oct. 22-29:

• Six homicide suspects apprehended
• Warrants cleared: 9 City, 12 State and 4 federal
• New Felon In Possession charges: 2
• New Possession of Narcotics charges:15
• New Distribution of Narcotics charges: 14
• Aggravated assault charges: 2
• Robbery charges: 1
• Total car checks/pedestrian checks/traffic violations: 662
• Search warrants served: 6
• Guns recovered: 5
• Cocaine recovered: 1,100 grams
• Marijuana recovered: 3,325 grams
• K2 recovered: 289 grams
• Cash recovered: $4,656
____________________________________________________

I wanted to give you an update on how the plan to target violent crime hot spots is going. Since we saturated these high-crime areas beginning Oct. 16, tremendous progress has been made. In just one week (Oct. 22-29), we apprehended six homicide suspects. To my knowledge, that is the first time that’s ever happened. We also have busted 17 people selling narcotics on the street, 15 for possession of narcotics and 14 for of distribution narcotics. We have contacted many potential suspects through a total of 662 car checks, pedestrian checks and traffic violations in these hot spots. We’re also still pulling the numbers together on the numerous felon-in-possession of firearms cases we’re working. We’ve also conducted many search warrants, recovered multiple firearms and drugs. Through this, we’ve cleared numerous city, state and federal warrants. More on those stats to come soon.

As I’d mentioned before, these four hot spots comprise 13 square miles and are where 50 percent of the city’s homicides and 42 percent of the aggravated assaults with guns have happened since 2009. I’m not identifying them because the criminals don’t tell us where they’re going to be, and we don’t want to do them any favors. The officers and I have spoken with the people in the target neighborhoods, and they’ve told us our efforts are making a difference.

Another part of my plan to reduce violence focuses on reducing the opportunity for the victim and offender to come together. Oftentimes, today’s victim is tomorrow’s offender. Over and over again, we see people get shot, survive, and refuse to prosecute the person who assaulted them. They want to take justice into their own hands, and this just perpetuates violence. If we know these shooting victims have involvement in narcotics and/or gangs, we are not going to just let them walk away. We will heavily encourage them to deal with their issues through the legal system. If they still refuse, we will stay on them, doing everything within the law to keep them away from the person against whom they seek revenge, even if that means arresting them for jaywalking to get them off the street. We cannot let violent feuds continue, catching innocent people in the crossfire and destroying communities.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Have a happy - and safe - Halloween

2011-10-31T14:31:00.001-05:00

If you're looking for a fun, safe place to take the kids for Halloween tonight, head out to the Seventh Annual Safe Trick-or-Treat event, sponsored by KCPD's North and Shoal Creek patrol divisions and Northland Neighborhoods Inc. The festivities will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Metro North Mall at 400 NW Barry Rd at the southwest entrance by the old JC Penney's. The event is free and for children 12 and younger. It will feature a spooky haunted house, games, candy and fun. Bring you camera to get pictures of your costumed kids in the photo area, as well.

If you can't make it to Safe Trick-or-Treat, the police have some tips to keep Halloween safe and fun for everyone:

♦ Check your children’s candy before they eat it! Send them out with safe “starter” candy.
♦ Remind children to NEVER enter anyone’s home or car.
♦ Have all children trick or treat in groups.
♦ Set a time for trick or treaters to be home and remind them to call 911 if there is unlawful or suspicious activity.
♦ Tie small glow sticks or use reflective tape on your child’s costume so they are easily seen in the dark.
♦ Always walk. Never run across a street.
♦ Have adults walk the neighborhood to discourage malicious mischief and keep children safe.
♦ Remind children to stay in populated places and not use back alleys or fields.
♦ Avoid replica toy guns - They may be mistaken for the real thing!
♦ Children should obey all traffic signs and look before crossing the street. Never cross between parked cars, in the middle of a block or diagonally through intersections.
♦ Do not leave your home unattended - Keep pets inside.
♦ Use Jack-O-Lanterns or high intensity glow sticks to light porch steps. Make sure trick-or-treaters are safe.
♦ Only give out commercially wrapped treats.
♦ Have an old-fashioned neighborhood Halloween block party to get to know neighbors.
♦ Obey all traffic and pedestrian regulations.
♦ Only trick or treat in neighborhoods where you know residents and at houses with porch lights on.
♦ Make sure young children are accompanied by an adult or responsible teenager when they go door-to-door.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Turn in your prescription drugs at Take Back event Saturday, or any time at Northland stations

2011-10-28T10:01:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City residents will be able to drop off their unwanted prescription and over-the-counter drugs all over Kansas City on Saturday, and now there are permanent drop-off locations at two police stations.

Kansas City Police are partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to present the nationwide Take Back day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. The drop off locations will be:

• MainCor, 3215 Main St.
• CVS, 11124 Holmes
• 633 E. 63rd St.
• Shoal Creek Patrol Division, 6801 NE Pleasant Valley Rd
• North Patrol Division, 1001 NW Barry Road

Residents can drop off the drugs anonymously with no questions asked. With the exception of needles, all expired, unused or unwanted medicines – prescription or over-the-counter – can be turned in. The Take Back intends to combat prescription drug abuse and dispose of the drugs in an environmentally responsible way. The drugs will be incinerated, keeping them away from those who would abuse them and out of the water supply and away from wildlife. Last year, KCPD collected 1,179 pounds of drugs at their April 2011 Take Back event.

But Saturday won’t be the only chance for residents to dispose of their unwanted medicines. In partnership with the Northland Coalition, permanent drop boxes have been installed at KCPD’s North and Shoal Creek patrol divisions. Starting Oct. 29, residents can drop drugs off 24 hours a day, every day at the receptacles in the stations’ lobbies.

For more information about the nationwide Take Back Day, go to www.dea.gov. For more information on the Northland Coalition and others sponsoring the prescription drug drop boxes, visit www.NorthlandCoalition.com.

Police launch revamped 911 Call Center by tweeting all dispatched calls for one hour

2011-10-26T14:26:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will launch their new 911 Call Center be tweeting all dispatched activity from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday.

The 911 Call Center has been undergoing renovations for nearly a year. The upgrades have been to accommodate the new city-wide radio system, which is set to go live Nov. 9. It replaces 15-year-old technology. With the old system, police could not easily communicate with neighboring law enforcement agencies. KCPD’s dispatchers had to call other agencies’ dispatchers and have them relay that information to their officers on their own radio system.

“We will have inter-operability with our sister agencies,” said Steve Hoskins, KCPD’s Communications Unit Manager. “Now we have the availability to work an incident together anywhere from western Johnson County to eastern Independence with the shared resources we’ll have available.”

The Call Center itself features upgraded consoles for calltakers and dispatchers, who must stay at their stations for long periods of time during 8- or 12-hour shifts. It also has a new video system which allows dispatchers to see live feed through KC SCOUT Traffic Cameras, security cameras set up throughout the city, weather reports, news broadcasts and more so they can better support officers in the field.

To celebrate the new 911 Call Center and demonstrate KCPD’s call volume (the Call Center received 892,283 911 calls in 2010), police will tweet every call that officers are dispatched to between 11 a.m. and noon Thursday on the police department’s Twitter account, @kcpolice or www.twitter.com/kcpolice.

Drivers with revoked licenses are dangerous

2011-10-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight, police will conduct a driver’s license checkpoint in the southern part of the city. Many have said these checkpoints take resources away from violent crime (they don’t – these are separate officers working on grant-funded overtime) or do nothing to protect public safety. That’s simply untrue.

Our officers already had put in for a grant to conduct these checkpoints when a man with 16 prior convictions for driving without a valid license plowed into the back of a car stopped at a red light, killing 12-year-old Damian Slayton on March 27, 2010. And we have new data now that show a significant portion of the drivers in fatal crashes so far this year were driving with revoked or invalid licenses.

As of Oct. 16, 49 crashes had killed 55 people in Kansas City in 2011. Three of those were hit-and-runs we’re still trying to solve, and another one the Missouri State Highway Patrol is working. So of the 45 crashes in which we know who the driver was, 19 of those drivers were on the road with a revoked or invalid license. That’s 42 percent. Another 11 were under the influence of alcohol or drugs (and we’re still waiting on the lab results for an additional four who we suspect were DUI).

So 42 percent of known drivers in fatal crashes in Kansas City so far this year had a revoked license or none at all. These licenses were revoked for a reason, and these drivers are dangerous. Compared with licensed drivers, unlicensed drivers are 4.9 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash, 3.7 times more likely to drive while impaired and 4.4 times more likely to be in hit-and-run crashes, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

National Alliance for Mental Illness honors KCPD's commitment to serve

2011-10-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

Our Informant newsletter this month highlights our Crisis Intervention Team Program. Two other local law enforcement agencies and KCPD led the charge to bring this program that serves the mentally ill to Missouri 10 years ago. It has saved many lives since. Check out the story below:

A woman threatening officers with a knife could have faced a far worse fate one February morning last year were it not for CIT training.

The woman was holding the knife and already had slit her wrist. She was agitated and hostile and approached officers several times, asking them to shoot her. Sergeant John Blomquist arrived, and his six years of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training led him to believe this woman was no ordinary criminal. Rather, she was severely emotionally disturbed. Instead of confronting her with lethal force, he fired a beanbag round that knocked the knife out of her hand, and she was taken into custody to receive treatment.

The suicidal woman was just one of many whose lives have been touched since Kansas City Police embraced the CIT program a decade ago. On Sept. 21, the Kansas City Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) presented KCPD with an award recognizing the department’s decade of dedication to training officers to respond to people in mental health crisis.

“It’s one of the best programs – if not the best – to have an impact on the mental health community in over 35 years,” said Guyla Stidmon, executive director of NAMI-KC. “I have seen some really big system changes for the good.”

A total of 403 sworn KCPD officers now are CIT-trained. CIT Program Coordinator Captain Todd Marckx said police often are the first people to encounter someone having a mental health crisis.

“The more knowledgeable and aware we are of what other people are going through, that makes us more prepared to help them,” Marckx said.

From Jan. 1 to Sept. 27, 2011, KCPD responded to 900 calls of an emotionally disturbed person, 37 of whom were armed with a weapon. Police logged 269 Crisis Intervention Team reports in the same period.

Ten years ago, Memphis was the only place in the country training police to deal with the mentally ill. Stidmon said KCPD, the Lee’s Summit Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office were the agencies who wanted to expand it to a second location.

“Those were the three who said, ‘We recognize mental health and illness are an important thing to our community. We’re willing to take the chance, dedicate the staff, and work with you to design the program,’” she said.

Captain Joseph Chapman was integral in starting KCPD’s program. Sergeant John Bryant said Chapman convinced him to come on board after Bryant struggled with a son who has severe emotional health problems.

“We all think we’re 10 feet tall and bullet-proof, but police have mental health issues in their families, too,” Bryant said.

Bryant now teaches CIT courses in de-escalation and scenario-based training. He also shares his own family’s experiences to personalize the training and better prepare officers for what they might encounter.

“People don’t call 911 to invite you to a birthday party,” he said. “A lot of the time, they’re in crisis.”

Stidmon said the training has saved an untold number of lives.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Targeting hot spots

2011-10-20T09:53:00.000-05:00

I said yesterday that I’d be letting you know about some of my crime-fighting strategies and priorities in the weeks and months to come, and I wanted to start by telling you about the hot spot initiative.

The hot spot initiative focuses on four separate areas totaling 13 square miles that since 2009 have been responsible for 50 percent of Kansas City’s homicides and 42 percent of its aggravated assaults with firearms. I don’t want to identify where those areas are right now because we want to stay a few steps ahead of the criminals.

The initiative began Sunday, and it involves us deploying both covert and overt operations in those hot spot areas. We are not, however, pulling resources out of any other area of the city to do this. Several of our specialized units are now working on this operation. We already have served multiple warrants and recovered drugs and firearms.

This is the immediate part of a more extensive crime-fighting plan. In 30-45 days, we’ll be putting together a committee that includes community members to look at narcotic deterrence and homicide reduction. This will be our first large-scale, community-policing project.

The hot spot initiative, meanwhile, is a long-term operation. While not sacrificing police presence anywhere else, it seeks to root out violent crime in the hardest-hit parts of town.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Allow me to introduce myself

2011-10-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

Hello, everyone. I’m Darryl Forté, and I was sworn in as the chief of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department on Oct. 13. I am very honored the Board of Police Commissioners selected me to lead the department, especially as the first African-American Chief. But I’m going to try to take my mother’s advice to “stay humble.” I think this blog has been a great way to interact with and inform the community, and I intend to continue it. So watch it regularly. In the coming weeks and months, I’ll let you know about the plans I have to fight crime and work with the community.

I wanted to start by telling you a little about me. I was born and raised in Kansas City. I have four siblings, and we were raised by a hard-working single mother. I graduated from Ruskin High School in 1980 and earned an associate’s degree from Penn Valley Community College in 1985. That same year, I joined the police department. I went on to earn my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Park University in 1990 and my master’s degree in management from Baker University in 1997. I’m also a graduate of the 197th session of the FBI National Academy, which took place in 1999.

I may be new to the Chief’s spot, but I’ve been with the KCPD for 26 years. I’ve held every rank in the department: officer, detective, major, you name it. And I’ve had the opportunity to work in diverse units, from Central Patrol Division to the Vice Unit to the Drug Enforcement Unit to the Employment Section and Narcotics and Vice Division.

I have been married for 24 years and have two daughters: a 22-year-old and one who’s about to turn 20. In my free time, I enjoy fishing, hunting and flying remote-control helicopters.

I’m not afraid to make changes to benefit the department and the city, and I’ve already done so. You’ll be hearing about more of those soon. I also know the community is the best crime-fighting tool we have, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Darryl Forte sworn in as new chief of police

2011-10-13T15:05:00.000-05:00

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs swore in Darryl Fortè as the 44th chief of police of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department today. Fortè is the department's first African American chief, as well. Below are some pictures of his swearing-in ceremony this morning at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center.

Robbery detective named Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year

2011-10-11T16:05:00.001-05:00

A lot has been going on around the Kansas City Police Department, but it was nice to pause today to see one of our detectives get recognized for his extraordinary investigative work. The Kansas City Crime Stoppers named Detective Christopher Toigo of KCPD’s Robbery Unit as the Officer of the Year at their 62nd annual luncheon today. This award is presented annually to an officer or detective in the metro area “who has exhibited outstanding career achievement in investigations.”

Detective Toigo was unaware he was getting the award until the luncheon today. Here’s what Crime Stoppers had to say about him and why he deserved the award:

"This year’s recipient began his career with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department in October 2001. According to his supervisor, this detective has gained the respect of his peers, received no discipline during his tenure and works well with a multitude of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies during the course of various investigations. He has also received more than 38 commendations during his career.

Representing a new generation of detective, this individual excels in the use of social media as an investigative tool to develop leads and suspects. He is also a skilled interrogator.

Examples of this detective’s prowess include the recent case of a career criminal whose history dates back to the 1980’s. The suspect had been incarcerated for robbery, kidnapping and armed criminal action until he escaped from prison by using the identity of his cellmate. Since the escape, the suspect had been featured twice on America’s Most Wanted and was actively being sought by the US Marshals, FBI and multiple state and local agencies. Coincidentally, this detective was assisting on a residential robbery case which also involved the kidnapping of a 20-year-old woman. Using social media, and within the first eight hours of the investigation, this detective identified and confirmed, with the assistance of a male victim, the identity of the first suspect. From this identification, the second suspect, our aforementioned career criminal, was identified. The continuing investigation led to the recovery of multiple weapons, ammunition, stolen property and evidence.

After conducting a thorough interrogation of the suspect, the detective got a full confession for robbery, rape and kidnapping. After several days of interrogation, the suspect, Rowdy Offield, confessed to nine business robberies in the metro area, more 100 robberies in Kansas City and provided information regarding robberies in 23 different states.

A further example of this detective’s exceptional work involves the 2011 robbery and homicide at Bledsoe Rentals located at 50th and Prospect. Knowing the area and frequency of Metro bus traffic, this detective contacted ATA and was able to locate, save and copy footage from cameras on the buses that showed the suspects entering the business before the homicide and leaving afterward. This detective was also able to determine the description and location of the get-away vehicle and immediately provided that information to the Homicide Unit. The vehicle was located with the murder weapon still in the trunk and two suspects were identified, taken into custody and subsequently charged with homicide.

Lastly, from late 2010 through early 2011 the Kansas City Metro area was victimized in a series of highly organized, take- over type grocery store robberies. A total of eight stores in six different jurisdictions were involved with losses totaling more than $100,000. This detective assumed the role as lead and coordinated resources including the Career Criminal Unit of the KCPD and the Violent Crime Squad of the FBI. Also involved were members of the Odessa, Raytown, and Independence, Missouri Police Departments. In addition, the identity of one of the suspects was developed by this detective after having received a TIP from the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline. At the conclusion of the case, a full confession was gained by this detective, and three suspects were charged federally and now face up to life in prison for the crimes. Furthermore, multiple felony cases in 6 jurisdictions were cleared and four weapons including an SKS assault rifle were recovered.

These are but a few examples from an extensive resume that continues to grow. It is our honor to present the 2011 Crime Stoppers Officer of the Year award to Det. Christopher Toigo, Robbery Unit, Kansas City Missouri Police Department.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Guard Cables

2011-10-10T13:02:00.001-05:00

Every day, you drive by something that saves lives in Kansas City, and you probably don’t even notice them.

Guard cables installed in medians have proved to be enormously successful in preventing cross-over crashes on highways. Before they were installed in Kansas City in the early 2000’s, we averaged about nine deaths a year from vehicles crossing over into opposing lanes of traffic on highways. Interstate 435 and U.S. 169 were some of the worst places.

So far in 2011, we have had no fatalities resulting from crossovers. In fact, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) told me that since 2004, there has been a 75 percent reduction in crossover fatalities on interstates in Kansas City. Not coincidentally, MoDOT has installed 75 miles of guard cable in the Kansas City area (Platte, Clay and Jackson counties) during that time.

An even more impressive statistic from MoDOT: in the last eight years in Kansas City, 2,659 vehicles have lost control and struck the guard cables. That is 2,659 vehicles full of people who did not cross over into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed. That is potentially thousands of lives that have been spared from injury and death.

As Retired Deputy Chief Cy Ritter said at a recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting: “It shows that some things work.”

In Kansas City, guard cables are in place on Interstates 29, 35, 435 and 470. MoDOT also recently began installing them on U.S. Routes, as well, including Highways 50, 71 and 169.

The below video from MoDOT gives you a good overview of guard cables and how they work:

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Citizen Satisfaction Survey

2011-10-06T15:25:00.002-05:00

Since 2005, KCPD’s scores on the annual Citizen Satisfaction Survey have steadily increased. The 2011 results were released last month (click here for survey), and they continue to show improvement.

This year, 63 percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of police protection; 60 percent were satisfied with the quality of police services; and 57 percent said they were satisfied with how quickly police respond to emergencies.

The number of people dissatisfied with police also has plummeted since 2005. Six years ago, 20 percent of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the overall quality of police protection, and this year just 13 percent were.

How safe people feel also is up across the board. Statistically significant increases were seen in feelings of safety Downtown and in city parks. Not all of this can be attributed to police, but we hope our efforts are leading to an increased perception of safety.

We don’t believe these steadily increasing satisfaction scores are mere coincidence. We have made a concerted effort to improve our customer service and make the best use of our resources for fighting crime. It is a privilege to serve the residents of Kansas City, and we hope to see these numbers rise for years to come.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Over the Edge- Special Olympics

2011-10-03T12:36:00.002-05:00

Two Kansas City Police employees have totally gone over the edge. Literally. Sergeant Cindy Cotterman and Administrative Assistant Carolyn Merino both rappelled off the side of the 15-story Clubhouse on Baltimore (at 1228 Baltimore) Friday, September 30th.

They haven’t gone totally nuts. They participated in the annual Over the Edge event to raise money for Special Olympics Missouri, law enforcement’s charity of choice. Together, they raised a total of $2,795.

The Kansas City Police Department and Missouri National Guard played host to the event. Check out some of the pictures of Cindy and Carolyn below:

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Two-day operation targeted violent offenders in suburban areas

2011-09-30T13:34:00.000-05:00

Press Release:

Kansas City Police and their local and federal partners went after violent crime suspects in the suburban areas of the city in a special operation that took place Sept. 28 and 29. Police served 13 search warrants and conducted 85 knock-and-talks in south Kansas City and the Northland. The two-day initiative, one day in south Kansas City and the second in the Northland, resulted in numerous arrests and the recovery of guns and narcotics. The initiative also led law enforcement to two marijuana grow operations and the arrest of several individuals involved in an organized shoplifting ring that plagued multiple jurisdictions on both sides of the state line.

The results are:

* 25 warrants cleared

* 25 new arrests

* Narcotics recovered

- 36,354 grams of marijuana

- 5.1 grams of cocaine

- 269.2 grams of K2

- 2.5 grams of pills

- 1 gram of methamphetamine

* 5 firearms

* 10 arrests for prostitution

Local agencies who participated in the initiative include Clay, Jackson and Platte County Prosecutors’ Offices, Platte County Sheriff’s Office and Grandview Police Department. Federal agencies included the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Marshals Service and Drug Enforcement Administration.

Northeast business thanks KCPD Foot Patrol

2011-09-28T13:35:00.002-05:00

We spotted this sign on a business at the corner of Independence Avenue and Chestnut, in one of our foot patrol areas. It’s a very heartening sign (literally) that this initiative is working and improving the quality of life of people in the targeted areas. The Northeast News also followed along with officers serving in this area, and you can check out their story here.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Task force identifies solutions to reduce crashes on 152 Highway

2011-09-27T10:16:00.002-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

After months of study, a task force has come up with solutions to reduce crashes in the most accident-prone area of Kansas City.

The Reducing Accidents on Highway 152 Task Force looked at the area of the 152 Corridor from Flintlock Road to Highway 291. Last year, two intersections in this corridor ranked No. 1 (152 and N. Flintlock) and No. 3 (152 and N. Church Road) in the top five crash locations in Kansas City.

The task force, convened by Kansas City Police, included police and city leaders from Kansas City and Liberty, the Liberty School District (school buses travel the corridor 100 times daily), business representatives, the Missouri Department of Transportation and concerned citizens.

“We needed to get the stakeholders in the places affected by this together at one table to identify the problem and look at solutions from every angle,” said Major Rich Lockhart of the Shoal Creek Patrol Division.

Liberty City Councilman Jeff Watt said the work of the task force benefits both Liberty and Kansas City by highlighting the issues faced by drivers in the northeast part of the Kansas City metro area.

“With over 60,000 people living on either side of the highway, everyone benefits in these efforts,” Watt said.

The task force began meeting in March 2011 and learned more than 30,000 vehicles travel the corridor every day. From Jan. 1, 2010, to March 15, 2011, 88 crashes occurred just in the area of N. Flintlock and N. Church. Twenty-five of those crashes involved injuries, and 62 were rear-end collisions.

The report states the solution that will have the greatest effect is the “Flintlock Flyover.” This flyover would take at least 7,500 cars a day from the 152 corridor by diverting traffic from Highway 152 and Flintlock south and crossing over Interstate 35, connecting on the east-side of I-35 near Pleasant Valley Road.

Kansas City Councilman Scott Wagner said the flyover idea had been around before, but it’s received new momentum with the task force’s work.

“MoDOT, Liberty and Kansas City are working together to get that done,” Wagner said. “The task force brought forward why it was needed in the first place and reinforced the reason to move forward.”

Other solutions the task force identified include improvements to the I-35 overpass, improvements to the Highway 291/I-35 interchange, reducing the speed limit on eastbound 152 at Shoal Creek Parkway, rumble strips and more. Click to see the entire report.

Public invited to question finalists for police chief position

2011-09-26T15:31:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

The public will get the chance to interview the candidates for the next chief of police of Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 6.

The community is invited at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, to the auditorium of Paseo Academy, 4747 Flora, for an open forum with the five finalists for Kansas City, Missouri, police chief. The forum will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Attendees will be invited to submit questions to the candidates in writing.

The five finalists for the chief position are:

KCPD Deputy Chief Darryl Forté
KCPD Deputy Chief Kevin Masters
Retired KCPD Deputy Chief Vincent Ortega
Fayetteville, N.C., Chief of Police Thomas Bergamine
Rochester, N.Y., Executive Deputy Chief George E. Markert.

Immediately after the public forum, the Board of Police Commissioners will meet in closed session. The Board also will conduct closed interviews with the finalists Oct. 5 and 6. The meetings are closed pursuant to Missouri Statute Section 610.021(3) because they relate to “hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting or particular employees by a public governmental body when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded.”

Celebrating the life of a fallen officer

2011-09-22T15:15:00.001-05:00

Kansas City Police are mourning the loss of one of our own today. This brave officer did not lose her life after a battle with a gun; she lost it after a battle with breast cancer. Master Patrol Officer Diane Engebretson passed away early yesterday, Sept. 21. She was 51 years old and had served as a patrol officer for her entire 23 years on the police department. She was assigned to the over-night shift at North Patrol Division at the time of her death.

We will celebrate Officer Engebretson’s life in many ways, one of which is to help find a cure for the disease that took her from us. Kansas City Police are participating in the 2011 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Oct. 29 at Liberty Memorial. This event raises money for the American Cancer Society, which uses the funds to do everything from transporting those suffering from breast cancer to and from treatment to researching innovative drugs and therapies. You can help by donating to the KCPD Team, “Walking the Beat for Breast Cancer,” by searching for our team name here.

The walk is just one small thing we can do to honor Officer Engebretson for all the dedicated service she has given this police department and the people of Kansas City.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

KCPD is cracking down on child restraint violations Sept. 18-24

2011-09-20T15:02:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Because car crashes are the No. 1 killer of kids and because nearly 73 percent of all child restraints are not used correctly, Kansas City Police will join other agencies statewide in aggressively enforcing child restraint laws.

The Child Passenger Safety Week Campaign will run from Sept. 18 to 24 and crack down on Missouri’s child safety seat law violators to try to reduce fatalities and injuries to children. The campaign will involve having extra officers on the streets and highways looking for violations of all types, but especially focusing on those involving unbuckled children. Missouri law requires all children under the age of eight to be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat unless they are 80 pounds or 4 feet 9 inches tall.

“Regular child safety seat and safety belt use is the most effective way to protect yourself and your children in a motor vehicle crash,” Sgt. Grant Ruark of the Traffic Enforcement Unit said. “We intend to get this message across to those who do not practice the simple habit of buckling up themselves and their children.”

For more information on Missouri’s seat belt use, visit www.saveMOlives.com

Additionally, Kansas City Police will conduct a driver’s license checkpoint tonight. During this operation, there will be signs placed in advance of the checkpoint site, and officers will be directing traffic. Motorists will be directed to a location where an officer can conduct a brief check to determine whether the motorist should be delayed longer. If not, the motorist will be delayed only a very brief period of time.

The Chief's blog carries on

2011-09-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

Hello, my name is Cheryl Rose, and I’m honored to be serving as the interim chief of police of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. I was very humbled the Board of Police Commissioners chose me to serve in this capacity until a permanent replacement for now-retired Chief James Corwin will be selected, likely in mid-October. The Board has the authority to name an interim chief under the provisions of 84.490(2) of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. I was sworn in this morning.

I always thought Chief Corwin’s blog was a great idea and an excellent way to communicate with the public we serve, so I wanted to continue it during my time in office. First, I wanted to introduce myself. I was born and raised in south Kansas City, graduating from Hickman Mills High School. I have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the administration of justice from the University of Central Missouri.

I joined the Kansas City Police Department in 1987 and have been assigned many different places, so I have a good overview of how the department operates. Some of those assignments have included patrol, Street Crimes Unit, Internal Affairs, Robbery Unit, Planning and Research, and being commander of the South Patrol Division. Most recently I was assigned as deputy chief of the Administration Bureau, which oversees the Information Services and Human Resources divisions.

Outside of the police department, I am a board member for Rosebrooks Center, a domestic violence shelter and agency.

Again, I’m very honored to be in this position for a time, and I plan to give it my all and do the best I can.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Good-bye, and thank you

2011-09-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

Today is surreal and bittersweet. I am writing my final blog and leaving what have been my job and my family for more than three decades. I retire today, on the 365th day of my 32nd year of service at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. I have been immensely honored to have spent the last seven years as Chief of Police of this amazing organization. But I know it’s time to move on and let someone with new ideas take the helm.

Much has changed since I started here in 1979. For just a visual of the evolution, compare a police car then: a button for lights and one for sirens, to one now: in-car computers, digital camera systems, automated license plate readers. That’s a microcosm of how technology has shifted how we do what we do. What has not changed is good ole’ common police sense. The technological tools help, but solving the whodunits and making relationships in neighborhoods, that’s still the same.

I can’t believe sometimes I’ve gotten paid to do what I do. It has been such fun and such a challenge. As chief, every day was different, and the variety was invigorating. Some days fell more on the challenge side – like fighting for the resources the men and women of this department deserve to do their job effectively and be fairly compensated for it.

But other days left me bursting with pride – like when an officer is honored for his or her heroics. Or how the whole department came together to make the organization more efficient through the Blueprint for the Future project. This project brought in outside auditors to analyze KCPD’s processes, and then nearly 200 department members went to work to study and implement the auditors’ recommendations. I also am proud of how far we’ve come with the CSTAR (Comprehensive Strategic Team Accountability Review) process. CSTAR brings commanders together regularly to talk about issues and statistics in their division and how they plan to address problems. It’s been a very effective method in allowing us to determine where best to use our resources and pinpoint career criminals.

I also am humbled that I get to speak with you directly in a forum like this. I started this blog in February 2009 and have posted more than 800 times since. KCPD is a national leader among law enforcement in social media (we’re also on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and are constantly investigating new ways to reach out). I can’t tell you how many times other agencies have asked us how they can replicate what we’re doing to directly communicate with the people they serve.

In many ways, I feel like I’m leaving the department in a good place. Crime has been on the decline for more than a decade. Violent crime fell 12 percent from 2009 to 2010. The residents of this city have firmly supported the department’s capital improvement program, and the investment they made through the Public Safety Sales Tax will ensure KCPD’s capital and equipment needs will be taken care of for years to come. We also enjoy the local, non-political control provided by our governance system. It allows officers to do their jobs without having to look over their shoulders and has numerous checks and balances that make for a very transparent organization.

Many people have asked what I plan to do upon retirement. I have no plans to step back into the public eye any time soon. I will continue my involvement on the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America’s Heart of America Council, where I will promote urban Scouting initiatives. I’ll also keep teaching an MBA course at an area university. Finally, I’ll be part of a working group announced by Gov. Jay Nixon that will work with the Pew Center on the States to look at solutions for prison overcrowding while still maintaining public safety. And I look forward to travelling and spending more time with my family.

Thank you for your support of the dedicated professionals who comprise the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. They cannot do their jobs without it. Finally, thank you for supporting me, especially in this blogging endeavor. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to share my thoughts and the story of this police department directly with all of you, and I hope my successor enjoys it, as well.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police unveil alternative fuel vehicles

2011-09-14T15:03:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Some of the 1.3 million gallons of fuel Kansas City Police vehicles use every year is becoming cheaper and greener.

Police unveilED their new compressed natural gas vehicles at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Shoal Creek Patrol Division, 6801 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road.

KCPD has two Chevrolet Impalas and is awaiting the delivery of 10 Ford Crown Victorias that are fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG). The CNG vehicles will be administrative cars, used by detectives and commanders. At this time, patrol vehicles cannot use CNG because the fuel tank is placed in the trunk, and patrol officers must carry a large amount of equipment in their trunks.

“We are committed to trying out alternative fuels to keep our fuel costs low and reduce the pollution emitted by our vehicles,” said Major Bob Kuehl, the leader of KCPD’s Fleet Operations Unit.

CNG is running at about $1.20 per gasoline gallon equivalent. It also is a domestic product and could reduce the department’s dependence on foreign oil. This also makes it a more secure source of fuel for first responders in the event of a crisis.

KCPD received funding for the CNG conversions through U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) award DE-EE0002538, a grant coordinated by the Kansas City Regional Clean Cites Coalition. The Coalition, a member of the DOE’s Clean Cities Initiative and administered by Metropolitan Energy Center, is a partnership between private businesses and local governments to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel and increase our region’s air quality through adoption of clean transportation technologies and policies.

All synthetic cannabinoids are now illegal in Missouri

2011-09-12T16:04:00.000-05:00

A new law that went into effect Aug. 28 outlaws all chemical compounds used to create synthetic cannabinoids. These go by such names as K2, K3, Syn, Spice, Incense and Potpourri. Missouri outlawed five chemical compounds in 2010 – including those used to make K2, but dubious chemists slightly altered the chemical compounds to make alternate versions that fell outside the law. The new law encompasses the whole spectrum of these compounds, making all synthetic cannabinoids illegal.

Because they were not illegal for a short time, most people don’t realize how dangerous these chemicals are. Sergeant Tim Witcig of our Drug Enforcement Unit said most of the synthetic cannabinoid chemicals come to the U.S. in powder form from overseas, usually from China. It is completely unregulated. Dealers in the United States then mix it with a liquid like acetone or alcohol and spray it on plant material. Studies have shown these synthetic drugs can be up to 10 times stronger than marijuana and produce significant negative effects on the human body.

In Kansas City, a teen who smoked K2 on his way to school went into cardiac arrest immediately afterward. Were it not for quick-responding teachers, school resource officers and ambulance personnel, he would have died. Sergeant Witcig said those who use these synthetic drugs experience hallucinations that have caused them to carve their bodies up with knives and throw themselves out of moving vehicles into traffic.

Because of these dangers, legislators have banned the drugs, and KCPD is working hard to enforce that ban. The drugs once were available at convenience stores and coffee shops, but they should not be any longer. If you see a store selling these, report it to police. Sgt. Witcig said police are taking a three-pronged approach to enforcement:

1.) Monitoring retail outlets and those who sell synthetic cannabinoids
2.) Locating manufacturers and dismantling their operations
3.) Stopping shipments of the chemicals from overseas and domestically.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

KCPD better prepared to combat terrorism than ever, but everyone still needs to be vigilant

2011-09-09T15:16:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we will observe the 10th anniversary of the worst terror attack on American soil. Security is understandably heightened nationwide and here in Kansas City (like at KCI Airport). I want you to know that KCPD is better prepared to combat terrorism than ever before. Our Homeland Security Unit is closely tied to federal, state and local agencies that investigate terrorism and conduct many investigations on their own. Just in 2010, they conducted 158 international terrorism investigations and 65 domestic ones. The video at the bottom of this post explains some of the ways KCPD has changed in its approach to fighting terrorism in the last 10 years.

We also are part of the Kansas City Terrorism Early Warning Center, which links the region together and keeps law enforcement informed of any possible threats.

Police have remained very vigilant about anything that could signal a possible terrorist attack in Kansas City. Nine box trucks - like those used in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing - were stolen in Kansas City earlier this week, and our officers and detectives immediately went to work to track them down and see if there were any ties to terrorism activities. Within just a couple days, investigators had located all nine trucks and two suspects. The suspects were career auto thieves who had been out of jail for just a few weeks and had no ties to terrorism.

But police can't be everywhere. We need your help. If you see something, say something. Be alert for the seven signs of terrorism and report anything suspicious. You can report any this to the Kansas City Terrorism Early Warning Center, which has partnered with the TIPS Hotline, at 816-474-TIPS; KCPD’s Homeland Security Unit at 816-889-6130; your local law enforcement agency; or the Kansas City FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force at 816-512-8200. If you sense an impending emergency, call 911. You can even report suspicious activity online.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Board of Police Commissioners names finalists for chief of police

2011-09-08T15:35:00.001-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners has released the names of the finalists for the position of chief of police.

The finalists are:

KCPD Deputy Chief Darryl Forté
KCPD Deputy Chief Kevin Masters
Retired KCPD Deputy Chief Vincent Ortega
Fayetteville, N.C., Chief of Police Thomas Bergamine
Rochester, N.Y., Executive Deputy Chief George E. Markert.

The Board will conduct closed interviews with the finalists Sept. 18, Oct. 5 and Oct. 6. A public forum with the finalists will take place the evening of Oct. 6 at a location to be announced.

The Board has named Deputy Chief Cheryl Rose to serve as interim chief of police upon the retirement of Chief James Corwin on Sept. 16.

It's Crime Stoppers Month in Kansas City

2011-09-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, the Kansas City Council declared September 2011 as Crime Stoppers Month in Kansas City. Crime Stoppers, which operates the TIPS Hotline and numerous other programs, is an incredibly valuable resource to our department. The language of the resolution spells out the amazing work they do here in KC:

RESOLUTION NO. 110675

Declaring September 2011, as Crime Stoppers month and supporting the mission of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission and Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers (816) 474-8477 TIPS Hotline.

WHEREAS, the City of Kansas City, Missouri places a high priority on public safety; and

WHEREAS, the Crime Stoppers program serves the Greater Kansas City area through the cooperation of law enforcement, the community and the media by providing an ANONYMOUS way to submit information regarding felony crimes by phone at (816) 474-8477 (TIPS), on-line, www.KCCCrimestoppers.com, or via TEXT, at 274637 (CRIMES) by including “TIP452” and your information, and pays cash rewards of up to $1,000.00 for arrest; and

WHEREAS, over its 29-year existence the TIPS Hotline has established a proven record of success by assisting law enforcement in clearing over 23,300 cases to include 590 homicides, 1,560 robberies, 170 rapes, 5,600 narcotics cases, 2,735 fugitive arrests and taking over 117,250 TIPS; and

WHEREAS, during that same period the TIPS Hotline helped recover over $8,154,990.00 of property, $14,870,300.00 of narcotics, 1,663 firearms and paid out over $1,177,000.00 in cash rewards; and

WHEREAS, the program recently implemented a Gun Bounty program, with the support of the Kansas City, Missouri City Council, to help address the violent crime rate in the Kansas City Metropolitan area, and the operation of the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline will continue to increase public safety by improving the quality of life, decreasing crime and assisting law enforcement in apprehending criminals and combat fear and apathy by offering an ANONYMOUS way to provide information and by paying cash rewards to citizens; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council hereby declare September 2011, as Crime Stoppers month and support the mission of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission and Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers (816) 474-8477 TIPS Hotline; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the Council in testimony thereof and that a copy hereof be presented to the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline Board of Directors with the congratulations of the Mayor, Council and citizens of Kansas City for making a difference to help reduce violent crime in Kansas City, Missouri.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Odd day at Headquarters

2011-09-06T16:42:00.001-05:00

A car crashed into Police Headquarters here at 12th and Locust just after noon today. It went through the west garage door on 12th Street. It's a bizarre story, which the Kansas City Star did a good job of summing up. But everyone's OK, and police immediately took into custody the suspect who started the incident. Here are some pictures of the damage.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Drive safely this weekend and have a great Labor Day

2011-09-02T14:43:00.001-05:00

Lots of you will be hitting the roads to celebrate the upcoming three-day weekend and last unofficial weekend of summer. Please be careful when you do so. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, from 2003 to 2007 (the latest statistics available), 77 people died and 2,769 were injured on Missouri roadways over the Labor Day weekends.

We're doing our part at KCPD to make sure drivers in Kansas City stay sober. We conducted a sobriety checkpoint last night (which stopped a total of 199 cars at 634 Prospect and resulted in the arrest of eight drunk drivers, two people who were driving with revoked licenses and the recovery of a stolen car) and plan more this weekend. We also will put out saturation patrols, sometimes known as wolfpacks, to seek out drunk drivers and get them off the roads.

So enjoy these final days of summer, but do so safely and responsibly.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

An alternative voice on public pensions

2011-09-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the City’s Pension System Task Force got to hear an alternative viewpoint to what they’ve been hearing about public retirement systems. Hank Kim made a presentation to the group, and he is the executive director of the D.C.-based National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. NCPERS is a “nonprofit network of trustees, administrators, public officials and investment professionals who collectively manage nearly $3 trillion in pension assets held in trust for approximately 21 million public employees and retirees – including firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers and other public servants.”

On Monday, Aug. 29, Mr. Kim wrote a response to the Kansas City Star’s Sunday editorial that said he would present “one-sided points.” His letter made solid, well-rounded arguments, and here’s what it said:

“To the Editor:

"Despite the unfair assertion in your Sunday editorial (Don’t accept ‘What, me worry?’ pension views), I will not be presenting one-sided arguments to Kansas City’s Pension System Task Force on Tuesday. The task force has invited me because its members want to be fully informed about all available options before making its recommendations to Mayor James and the City Council – an approach for which they should be applauded, not criticized.

"The fact is there are a number of effective strategies for securing the health and sustainability of a public pension plan before taking the drastic and costly step of converting it to a 401(k)-style plan. Many public pension plans around the country are employing those strategies.

"It’s important to remember that public employees routinely contribute to their pension plans, paycheck after paycheck, while many government bodies – including Kansas City – have not made their required pension contributions for years. Before scapegoating public employees and threatening their retirements, policy makers and the general public should become fully and adequately informed of the facts and the available options. I hope to help with that process on Tuesday.

"While revenue shortfalls have prompted government officials to scrutinize public pension plans, we believe their focus is too narrow. The U.S. is facing an overall retirement crisis as record numbers of workers enter their retirement years. Retirement security for all Americans –whether they work in the public or private sector – must become a national priority.”

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Detectives recognized for breaking up multi-state prescription drug theft ring

2011-08-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

I presented awards last week to investigators from multiple agencies who broke a multi-state pharmaceutical theft ring wide open. The investigation was led by Detectives Paul Thilges, pictured at left above, and Detective Steve Morgan of our South Patrol Property Crimes Section. Here's what they and our federal and local partners did:

What would soon become a massive investigation began with a burglary on January 2, 2011, at the Omni Care Pharmacy Distribution Center in the 400 block of E. Red Bridge Road. Thieves had taken 43,000 pills of narcotic pain killers and Xanax.

Detectives Steven Morgan and Paul Thilges of the South Patrol Property Crimes Section took the case. They reached out to other area police agencies to see if their cities had experienced similar burglaries. They learned the same types of crime had been going on since May 2010 in Overland Park, Kansas City, Kansas, Lenexa, Lee’s Summit and Independence. Detectives Morgan and Thilges called a meeting with investigators from all these jurisdictions in which they all shared and combined evidence. The detectives held multiple meetings and built the case under the leadership of Detectives Morgan and Thilges.

With the help of other members of South Patrol Property Crimes, the Career Criminal Squad, the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals and Independence Police Department Career Criminal Squad, many hours of surveillance were conducted, leads were pursued, search warrants were served and interviews were conducted. All this work resulted in two men being charged in a 10-count federal indictment for a $1.4 million drug-trafficking conspiracy that included nearly 100,000 pills and the illegal possession of many firearms. The FBI has informed KCPD the investigation has expanded into three other states, and they will be pursuing more indictments in the future.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Paperless ticketing and new REJIS criminal justice info. system are now live

2011-08-29T11:17:00.000-05:00

I've been talking about it for a while, and it's finally here: the full change-over to E-ticketing and a new criminal justice information system, REJIS. A ceremony at Municipal Court this morning marked this transition. Kansas City is the first major municipality in the country in which the city's criminal justice system is paperless from the time an officer gives you a ticket to the time the case reaches its final disposition in court.

At the police department, we’ve already begun electronic ticketing, which gets officers back out in the field much faster than the hand-written kind. As of this morning, I heard the record for issuing an e-ticket is down to two minutes. They’re also far more accurate. No longer will someone at Municipal Court struggle to read an officer’s hand-writing. And no more hand-carrying stacks of tickets. In a meeting in the process of this, I once heard that up until REJIS, the greatest technological advancement in information sharing between KCPD and the Municipal Court was that officers started carrying tickets over in metal boxes instead of wooden ones.

The LE-Web portion of REJIS also is going to benefit the police department greatly. This new electronic criminal justice information system notifies police about wants and warrants and is much easier to use than our old system, which was technology from the early 1990s. It also allows police to pull up driver’s license photos and license plate and vehicle information from the Missouri Department of Revenue so they can know who they'll be dealing with before they enter a potentially dangerous situation. This system went live at midnight August 28 and is humming along quite nicely.

The transition to REJIS took place in one year and was on time and on budget. It was a huge undertaking, and I congratulate the KCPD project team who worked very closely with Municipal Court and REJIS staff to get it into place. Our KCPD staff trained more than 1,500 officers and support staff on the new system. The City estimates it will save $1 million annually and more efficiently move the 300,000 citations written by Kansas City Police annually through Municipal Court. This is a huge step forward that will benefit the people of Kansas City.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Lots of road closures for races this weekend

2011-08-26T14:11:00.000-05:00

Be aware that there are multiple races going on this weekend presented by The North Face Endurance Challenge that will shut down roadways. A total of 150 road closures will take place at some point for the Challenge. The event will feature a 50K race, marathon and marathon relay on Saturday followed by a half-marathon, 10k, and 5K on Sunday.

On Saturday, the 50K will begin at 6 a.m., and the marathon and marathon relay will begin at 7 a.m. On Sunday, the half-marathon will begin at 7 a.m., the 10K at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K at 8 a.m. All races begin at Theis Park at Cleaver II Boulevard and Oak Street.

Police will open up roads after the last runner passes, and they will try to let traffic cross the route when it is safe to do so. But if you're traveling anywhere in the area of the below map this weekend, please try to take an alternate route or allow yourself plenty of extra time. The below is the map for the 50K race. If you'd like to see maps of all the races, check out the race packet on the North Face Endurance Challenge web site.

Officer honored for stopping man who tried to kill his mother

2011-08-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

To say Officer Toby Sicks is a good shot would be an understatement. He is such a good shot that he was able to save an innocent woman's life when her son was threatening to kill her, and today I presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts.

On Feb. 28, 2010, officers from the Tactical Response Team were planning to arrest a man for robbery in a carjacking. Members of the team were setting up the area as another officer conducted surveillance in plain clothes from an undercover vehicle. Not long after starting surveillance, the suspect left his home and walked in the under-cover officer's direction, not knowing he was a police officer. The suspect reached into his pants to retrieve what looked to be a weapon. The under-cover officer believed he was going to be the victim of a carjacking and called in the tactical unit. As the suspect saw the tactical team approaching, he ran into his house and began arguing with a woman. Shortly after, the woman, identified as his mother, attempted to run out of the house but was restrained by the suspect.

Knowing that there was a victim in danger, Officer Toby Sicks acted as team leader and directed members of the tactical team into their positions. The suspect refused to leave the residence, and the argument with his mother escalated. The suspect attempted to flee out of the back door and realized he was surrounded by officers. He retreated into the house and moments later re-emerged with his mother, holding a knife to her throat. Officer Sicks, a police sniper, saw that he was the only one in the correct position to disarm the suspect and save the woman’s life. Police asked the suspect multiple times to drop his weapon, but he ignored the officers' direction. With little room to fail, Officer Sicks discharged his weapon, fatally wounding the suspect and saving the mother’s life.

No police officer ever wants to kill another human being, but sometimes they must make the split-second decision to do so in order to save the innocent. That's what Officer Sicks did, and he did it with precision. An inch or two one way or the other, and the mother could have been harmed instead. It was a pleasure to present him the Distinguished Service Medal.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

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

2011-08-23T14:30:00.000-05:00

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.

E-ticketing just over a week away

2011-08-19T16:13:00.000-05:00

On Monday, we begin a "soft roll-out" of E-ticketing. The whole system, in conjunction with Municipal Court, goes live August 29. But starting Aug. 22, KCPD officers will no longer "write" tickets. This video gives you a good visual of how the process will work:

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Partnership to protect domestic violence victims so successful shelter must expand

2011-08-18T15:16:00.000-05:00

I've told you before about the amazing things that have resulted from our Lethality Assessment program - many, many more domestic violence victims getting the shelter and services they need. This program began in June 2009 and trained every patrol officer - about 900 of them - to administer an assessment of about a dozen questions to victims to determine how likely they are to be killed by their abuser. If the assessment shows the victim is in danger, police at the scene immediately will put her in touch with a domestic violence victim advocate from the Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence shelter and services agency.

Last year, Lisa Fleming, Rose Brooks Center's Chief Operating Officer, explained what a game-changer this Lethality Assessment and partnership with the police department has been. She said, "When I look back over the years at community collaborations that resulted in such a big systems change in how we go about responding to victims of domestic violence, this is huge – one of the biggest.”

This partnership has protected many women and children, so much so, that it's created overcrowding at Rose Brooks. It's a good and bad problem. The good is that so many more victims are being shielded from abusers and receiving services that are helping them put their lives back together. The bad is that so many victims are being served there simply isn't room for all of them, and Rose Brooks has had to turn some away. The Center began an emergency fund-raising campaign last year to build onto its shelter to make more room for the victims being sent there by police through the Lethality Assessment Program. They broke ground on the project yesterday. We're excited about the continued partnership with Rose Brooks and the possibilities the expansion brings to get more victims of domestic violence to safety.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

KCPD cracking down on impaired drivers Aug. 19-Sept. 5

2011-08-17T16:38:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

The sobering fact is that impaired driving contributes to nearly 30 percent of all Missouri traffic fatalities. In 2010, 234 people were killed and 957 seriously injured in crashes involving an impaired driver. In KC, 63 percent of all fatal accidents involved an impaired driver. That’s why the Kansas City Missouri Police Department will join other Missouri law enforcement agencies to crack down on drunk driving Aug. 19-Sept. 5, 2011.

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will participate in statewide sobriety checkpoints and DWI saturation patrols enforcing Missouri’s DWI laws and keeping impaired drivers off the road.

Consequences of drunk driving include jail time, loss of their driver licenses, or being sentenced to use ignition interlocks. Insurance rates go up. Other financial hits include attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job or job prospects. When family, friends and co-workers find out, violators can also face tremendous personal embarrassment and humiliation.

“Driving drunk is simply not worth all the consequences,” Sgt. Ron Podraza said. “Our message is simple and unwavering: You Drink and Drive. You Lose.”

For more information, please visit http://www.savemolives.com/

Narcotics and Vice Quarterly highlights efforts against drugs, money laundering, violence at taverns

2011-08-16T16:29:00.001-05:00

The latest Narcotics and Vice Quarterly newsletter is now out, and I urge you to read it. It features stories about the Gun Bounty Program, how police are combatting a new kind of money laundering, a profile on our rarely seen Financial Investigations Section, the results of Operation Vice Grip to combat violence at bars and taverns and the latest statistics on drugs, weapons, and prostitution in Kansas City. It also introduces you to our newest drug dogs, Wendy and Julie. They're a friendly pair who work to stop the transport of large quantities of drugs through Kansas City, but we also used them in our latest Violent Crime Initiative to sniff out drugs in homes and businesses where we had warrants to search.

Finally, I pasted one of the articles from the newsletter below about the impressive amount of national recognition the investigators of our Narcotics and Vice Division are receiving lately.

Several members of the Narcotics and Vice Division have been recognized as the best in their field in the nation in a number of categories:

Detective Anthony Garcia of KCPD’s Interdiction Section was named the 2011 Detective of the Year by the International Narcotics Interdiction Association at the group’s annual conference. Since he has been assigned to the Interdiction Section in 2002, Det. Garcia has intercepted the transport of 4,761 pounds of marijuana, 101 pounds of cocaine, 5 gallons of PCP, almost 20 pounds of meth and more than $2 million in cash.

On June 21, the Kansas City-based Midwest High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Investigative Support Center was named the top HIDTA in the nation by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, besting 26 other centers nationwide at an awards program in Washington, D.C. Staffed by several KCPD members, Midwest HIDTA was recognized for providing critical intelligence linkages that support federal, state and local law enforcement officers.

Members of the KCPD Gang Squad who participated in Operation Smokin’ Aces won the Homeland Security Investigations 2011 Director’s Award in the Category of Gang Investigations. The Operation began in 2009 when the Gang Squad started an investigation involving several gang members in Kansas City who were involved in a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation. It culminated in big arrests on June 9, 2010, and was one of the largest drug-trafficking rings ever busted in Kansas City. The Gang Squad partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the initiative and indicted 23 people on drugs and weapons charges. The federal indictment alleged that all 23 defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of crack cocaine since July 1, 2009.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Exercise extra caution with schools back in session

2011-08-15T16:11:00.000-05:00

Students of the Kansas City Missouri School District went back to class today. They're just one group heading back to the books in the area Kansas City Police serve. Soon to follow will be the Center and Park Hill school districts tomorrow, the North Kansas City School District on Aug. 24 and a host of parochial and charter schools in between. This means many more children, school buses, and inexperienced teen drivers on the road. Please watch out for them and drive cautiously.

When school is in session, KCPD conducts extra traffic enforcement in school zones. Those lower speed limits are there to enable you to stop quickly in case there are school children in the road. We'll also be looking out to ensure drivers are obeying laws when school buses are loading and unloading. Additionally, as we've done in year past, officers will pay special attention to bus stops where children are waiting to be sure they're safe.

If you commute, you may need to build in an extra minute or two for slowing down in school zones or stopping behind school buses, but the children you're protecting will thank you for it.

Send comments to kcpdchecklist@kcpd.org.

Persistent offenders responsible for most of Kansas City's property crimes

2011-08-12T14:19:00.000-05:00

Kansas City recorded 6,956 burglaries last year, but I can assure you that there are not 6,956 suspects responsible for them. Most burglars in Kansas City are persistent offenders, breaking into homes and businesses over and over again. We have arrested single suspects responsible for hundreds of burglaries, and as soon as we do, neighborhoods that have been plagued with these thefts suddenly have none. Police grow weary, arresting the same people over and over again. Sometimes they’ll arrest them for burglary and see them back out on the streets in the next few days, set free by low bond amounts and given probation instead of prison time. This is an exceptionally frustrating issue for us at KCPD. Our officers and detectives do an absolutely phenomenal job of finding and arresting these persistent offenders, but other pieces of the criminal justice system send them back out to commit their crimes again.

So I wanted to show you an example of just a couple of the persistent offenders who have been plaguing us lately.

First, there’s a 48-year-old man who has been involved in persistent criminal activity in Kansas City, Mo., and surrounding areas since 1989. He is devastating areas of the South Patrol Division right now and is a person of interest in crimes in numerous other jurisdictions, as well. Here’s some of his timeline:

Aug. 17, 1989 – Convicted of stealing, sentenced to 60 days in jail
Nov. 18, 1989 – Convicted of burglary, sentenced to five years of probation
July 13, 1990 – Convicted of burglary, sentenced to two years in prison
Oct. 12, 1990 to March 14, 1991 – Incarcerated
March 15, 1991 – Paroled
Sept. 4, 1991, to June 12, 1992 – Incarcerated for parole violation
July 15, 1992 – Complete release from parole
April 29, 1994 – Convicted of stealing a motor vehicle, sentenced to three years in prison
April 29, 1994, to Aug. 7, 1995 – Incarcerated
Aug. 8, 1995 – Paroled
Sept. 15, 1996 – Convicted for stealing, sentenced to 30 days in jail
Sept. 8, 1997, to March 24, 1998 – Incarcerated
Aug. 12, 2001 – convicted of two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, sentenced to four years of probation
Dec. 17, 2002 – convicted of driving with a revoked license, sentenced to two years of probation
April 28, 2011 – Charged with theft between $500 and $2,500
June 12, 2011 – Charged with theft between $500 and $2,500
July 14, 2011 – Charged with 1st degree burglary
Aug. 4, 2011 – Bonded out of Jackson County Jail by posting 10 percent of $7,500 bond

The last three charges involved repeated theft at Notre de Dame de Sion High School in South Kansas City. They were spaced apart enough that the school was able to replace the equipment, and then those replacements were subsequently stolen.

Then there’s a 51-year-old man who has victimized many, many people in the Metro Patrol Division and beyond. His criminal career in Kansas City began in 1982:

May 12, 1982 – Convicted of larceny under $50, sentenced to 730 days of probation
Nov. 29, 1984 – Convicted of larceny over $200, sentenced to one year of probation
Dec. 1, 1991 – Convicted of two counts of burglary, sentenced to two years of probation
Feb. 27, 1994 – Convicted of larceny under $50 in Kansas, sentence unknown
July 27, 1994 – Convicted of possessing a weapon in Kansas, sentence unknown
Aug. 30, 1995 – Convicted of 1st-degree burglary, two counts of 2nd-degree burglary, two counts of stealing, sentenced to 4 years in prison – released after 120 days and given 5 years of probation
Aug. 29, 1998 – Convicted of 1st-degree burglary and stealing, sentenced to five years of probation
June 4, 2001 – Convicted of 1st-degree burglary, stealing and possession of drugs, sentenced to five years in prison but serves about two years
March 23, 2004 – Convicted of possessing drugs, sentenced to five years in prison, serves about three years
April 12, 2010 – convicted of 1st-degree burglary, sentenced to two years of probation
July 27, 2010 – charged with theft over $500, bonds out
Dec. 2, 2010 – failed to appear in court
Jan. 27, 2011 – charged with 2nd-degree burglary and stealing over $500, remains in custody in lieu of $10,000 bond

These are just two of the many criminals who spend their days and nights prowling for opportunities to steal from vehicles, home and businesses. They take away residents’ sense of security in their own home. We’re doing all we can at the police department to stop them and to keep them from walking the streets freely and victimizing more people.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police Athletic League and Upper Room make strides in reading program

2011-08-11T14:46:00.000-05:00

I mentioned last week about our PAL-Upper Room graduation on Aug. 5. Our Informant newsletter delves more into just how successful the program was at improving the literacy skills of the children our Police Athletic League serves. And be sure to check out photos of the graduation on our Facebook page and the video below the story made by one of the PAL Board members documenting how the 8-week program went:

Nearly 100 children increased their reading levels this summer in a new partnership between the Police Athletic League and the Upper Room Program.

The average participant in the eight-week program at PAL gained four months of reading grade level.

“They did very well,” said Jerry McEvoy, executive director of Upper Room.

Upper Room started in 1999 in a church at 59th and Swope Parkway to provide out-of-school education to inner-city children from low-income families. The non-profit program spread across the city, mostly in churches. But McEvoy said they started looking at areas where churches didn’t have the classroom space to support the program.

The Police Athletic League (PAL) got involved after a PAL Board member’s own children attended one of Upper Room’s summer academic camps last year. She called the Upper Room and asked if they’d like to partner with PAL. The directors said they would consider it and made a site visit to the PAL Center at 1801 White Ave. in spring 2011. Officers at PAL were eager to bring Upper Room’s opportunities to the neighborhood children.

“We wanted them here for the kids in the PAL community,” said Sergeant Martin Cobbinah, a supervisor of KCPD PAL.

McEvoy said he was impressed with officers who worked at PAL and their desire to help the children they serve.

“That’s what convinced us (to partner with them),” McEvoy said. “They were very aggressive in wanting to give the kids more academic opportunities. They felt the kids could learn more.”

And they have. Simply through word-of-mouth marketing by PAL officers, more than 100 children going into first through eighth grades signed up for the rigorous program, taught by certified teachers with assistance from PAL officers and volunteer tutors. The Summer Academic Camp ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday. Students spent the first part of their days working with teachers and tutors on reading and some math, taking tests to determine their proficiency. After a provided lunch, children engaged in a variety of fun and cultural activities and were given time to read books.

Graduates who have missed fewer than two days of the program and averaged an 85 percent or higher score on their reading exams receive a monetary reward. The Upper Room funds the program.

The Upper Room and PAL will continue their partnership with an after-school program this fall and another round of academic summer camp next year. Anyone interested in being a volunteer tutor in these programs can call 913-339-8332. Training will be provided.

Officer honored for helping lost elderly couple with dementia

2011-08-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

Deputy Chief Cy Ritter filled in as acting chief yesterday at an award ceremony in which we honored dozens of department members and citizens who have gone the extra mile. Some, you never hear about, so it's good to recognize them in this way.

One such person who went above and above is Timothy Trost. A relatively new officer, Officer Trost saw an elderly couple on the corner of 39th and Benton while on regular patrol at 1 a.m. on March 11, 2011. Because of the time of night and the cold temperatures, he decided to check on them. He spoke with them briefly and realized they were confused and feeling the effects of the cold. He called an ambulance, and it became clear to him the couple suffered from dementia.

They couldn't remember their address and didn't know where they were. Officer Trost calmly and patiently gathered enough information from them to figure out where they lived. After an ambulance took the couple to the hospital for treatment of low blood sugar, Officer Trost could have returned to his regular patrol, but he didn't. Instead, he found the couple's house. All the doors and windows were locked, and no one was home. Officer Trost then went to a neighbor's house, determined to find someone to come care for the couple. The neighbor was able to give Officer Trost a phone number of a close family member of the elderly couple. He contacted them and learned a scheduling miscommunication had left the couple alone without their normal caretakers, and family were on their way to the hospital once he told them what happened.

This kind of compassion and perseverance shows what kind of people work at KCPD. Nothing required Officer Trost to do any of the things he did, from stopping in the first place to tracking down the elderly couple's family, but he's proof that good people make good police officers.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Final results show success in three-day violent crime initiative

2011-08-05T15:05:00.003-05:00

Some of the drugs and guns recovered during the Violent Crime Initiative.

An effort led by Kansas City Police put close to 200 law enforcement officers in the most violent areas of the city for three days to attack violent crime.

Running from Aug. 3 to 5, this year’s violent crime initiative followed up and expanded on the success of those in previous years. This year, KCPD and Independence Police officers, as well as agents from seven federal agencies, obtained search warrants for 50 addresses – the most ever – in the East, Central and Metro patrol divisions. Each of those divisions also provided input about problem locations and individuals to assist in the overall effort of suppressing violent crimes in these designated areas during this initiative.

This year’s initiative was conducted in two parts. The first part took place Wednesday and Thursday as officers executed 50 search warrants and many more arrest warrants.

The final results of the first phase are:

• 133 warrants cleared
• 71 new arrests
• 10 federal felon in possession charges
• Nearly 20 pounds of narcotics recovered:
   - 12 lbs. 7 oz. of K2
   - 6 lbs. 2 oz. of marijuana
   - 3.7 oz. cocaine
   - 1.4 oz. meth
   - 210 pills
• 48 firearms recovered
• $10,725 in cash recovered
• $1,550 worth of counterfeit bills recovered in the 7900 block of Garfield
• Five drug houses posted and closed by DART (Drug Abatement Response Team)
• 649 cell phones recovered in one home in the 3700 block of Woodland
• Two children taken into protective custody in 900 block of Bellefontaine.

Police will conduct a similar operation in the suburban patrol divisions (North, Shoal Creek and South) in the coming months.

Part two of the three-day initiative involves the 200-plus officers and agents involved in the operation going door-to-door in neighborhoods today to get new leads on five unsolved homicide cases. Their work today already has developed additional information in several of the investigations. The cases for which they’re pursuing tips are:

• Mauro Brito-Pacheco: 38-year-old Pacheco was shot at about 6:42 p.m. Aug. 10, 2009, when he struggled with robbers at his place of business, Tina’s Hair Salon, located at 922 W. 24th St. Witnesses said three men fled from the scene.

• Earl Ricks III: 33-year-old Ricks appeared to be riding a bicycle when he was shot at about 5:57 p.m. October 17, 2010, at 34th and Bellefontaine.

• Marshall Blacksure: 26-year-old Blacksure was found shot to death on the sidewalk at Roberts and Bales at about 8 p.m. June 22, 2011. A second shooting victim arrived at a local hospital about 20 minutes later saying he was shot in the arm at the same location as Blacksure. Witnesses said a red Chevy Camaro fled the scene immediately after the shooting.

• Paul Nelson: 23-year-old Paul Nelson was found dead in the park at Linwood and Park at about 11:27 p.m. June 29, 2011, from an apparent gunshot wound.

• Keith Handson: 33-y.o. Handson was found suffering from apparent stab wounds at Independence and Bales at about 11:36 p.m. July 7, 2011.

Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Federal agencies who participated in the operation include: the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Marshals Service; United States Postal Inspection Service; Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s and U.S. Attorney’s offices and Clay County Sheriff’s Department also assisted in the operation.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

PAL & Upper Room Inc. celebrate partnership on Academic Summer Camp with graduation

2011-08-03T15:20:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

The Kansas City Police Athletic League will celebrate the academic success of more than 100 inner-city children through their new partnership with the Upper Room program at a graduation ceremony Friday.

The ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. August 5 at the Police Athletic League (PAL) Center at 1801 White. Students going into first through eighth grades will be honored for their intensive work to raise their reading levels over the summer.

This is the first year PAL has partnered with the Upper Room, whose eight-week Summer Academic Camp meets at 26 other locations throughout urban Kansas City.

“We wanted them here for the kids in the PAL community,” said Sergeant Martin Cobbinah, a supervisor of KCPD’s PAL program.

A PAL Board member suggested bringing the Upper Room to PAL, and the idea caught on quickly. They decided to originally cap registration at 100 children, but interest was so great that a total of 107 registered for the program.

The Summer Academic Camp runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday. Students spend the first part of their days working with certified teachers and volunteer tutors on reading and some math. After a provided lunch, children engage in a variety of fun and cultural activities. Most children in the Upper Room Summer Academic Camp increase their reading skills by one to two grade levels, Sergeant Cobbinah said.

Graduates who have missed fewer than two days of the program and averaged an 85 percent or higher score on their reading exams receive a monetary reward.

The program is funded by the Upper Room, which is a non-profit organization providing high-quality out-of-school education programs to low-income families in the urban areas of Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan.

Boots to the ground tomorrow

2011-08-01T16:23:00.000-05:00

Our much-anticipated Foot Patrol Project begins at about 10 a.m. tomorrow with 14 brand new officers taking to the streets of the city's most crime-ridden areas. These officers have successfully completed their 10-week "break-in" training period with a field training officer after their graduation from the Kansas City Regional Police Academy in June. Please read my earlier blog post for some background on this project and a map of the areas where the Foot Patrol Project will be.

The officers will work in pairs or trios in two shifts from Tuesday through Saturday. The shifts will start at about 10 a.m. and wrap up at about 2 a.m. They've had some special equipment issued to them, like Camel Back water containers (which will be especially needed in this heat). They also will receive department-issued cell phones, and we expect them to give those numbers out to residents in the communities they will patrol. We want the good citizens and business owners of these neighborhoods to be able to reach the officers directly if they have a question, want to share a tip or just invite them over for a snack. The officers also have been assigned a car to park centrally in the area they patrol so they can have access to the in-car computer to write reports and other resources in the vehicles, like emergency equipment.

The officers also have received some additional training to prepare them for their unique assignment. In addition to hearing from foot patrol officers with the Philadelphia Police Department (whose program we're modeling), they received information from a number of our specialized and investigative elements to learn about the types of crime and narcotics activity specific to the areas they'll patrol. Their field training officers also spent additional time with them on skills such as pedestrian checks. And because of the heat, regular patrol officers in the area will be keeping an extra close eye on them.

We're looking forward to seeing what these young officers can accomplish in the next 90 days of the project and hope the residents of the neighborhoods they'll serve look forward to it, as well.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

First e-tickets rolling out

2011-07-28T12:17:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday, something pretty neat happened in the world of traffic tickets here at KCPD: we issued our first E-ticket. At 7:44 a.m. July 26, a woman was issued an e-ticket for going 65 mph in a 45 mph zone on 71 Highway near Truman Road. While she likely wasn’t very excited about the ticket, it was a big day for us.

We’ve been working toward e-ticketing for some time now. I first told you about it in February. This eliminates triplicate-paper citations and automatically transfers citation information to Municipal Court. The whole system is scheduled to go live Aug. 29. When it does, violators should be able to pay their fines online within 24 hours of getting their citation. This will clear up a lot of paperwork between the Police Department and Municipal Court and really streamline the process.

We’re in a one-week test period of the e-ticketing system now. Four traffic enforcement officers were selected to try out the hand-held devices that print receipt-like tickets for violators. In a 24-hour period from Tuesday to Wednesday, July 26 to 27, they’d issued 68 e-tickets. We’re using this week to identify any bugs with the system and test the officers’ learning curve. When they first started, the test officers took about 12 minutes to issue an e-ticket. But amazingly, within 24 hours they’d already returned to close to their normal traffic-stop time of about 5 minutes.

We’re planning a “soft rollout” of the e-ticketing equipment the week of Aug. 22. All patrol officers should have the devices by then and get hands-on experience using them. We’ll also make sure information is being properly transmitted to the court.

Then on Aug. 29, Kansas City drivers disobeying the law can count on getting a new-fangled e-ticket and a much more convenient process to pay their fines.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Man charged in Waldo attacks and sexual assault

2011-07-27T15:32:00.000-05:00

The Jackson County Prosecutor today filed charges against 23-year-old James D. Kemp in the sexual assault of a woman on the Trolley Trail in June and an attack on a woman at a car wash near the trail a week and a half ago. We released a composite sketch last week of a possible suspect.

Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker today praised the work of KCPD's detectives and Crime Lab personnel on identifying and apprehending this suspect, especially given that the Waldo-area neighborhood already had lost much of their sense of security in previous attacks by a different serial rapist in 2009 and 2010.

The suspect arrested today lived and worked in the Waldo area. DNA and fingerprints linked him to the two latest attacks. In each instance, he wore all black clothes and a black ski mask, threatened the victims with a knife, bound them with duct tape and told them to shut up or he would kill them.

According to the probable cause statement, Kemp initially denied any involvement in the attacks, but he then confessed to both of them when confronted with the DNA and fingerprint evidence.

Congratulations to the officers, detectives, crime scene investigators and crime lab analysts who got this dangerous man off the streets and increased the sense of security for those who use the popular Trolley Trail. James Kemp is being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Operation HAY (Horses and Youth)

2011-07-25T16:29:00.000-05:00

For several years now, our Mounted Patrol Section has done an amazing job reaching out to inner-city children in a program we like to call Operation HAY - Horses and Youth. We posted several pictures on KCPD's Facebook page of the group that came out last Tuesday.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, children ages 7 to 18 who participate in the City's day camp programs through Kansas City Parks and Recreation come out to Mounted Patrol's stables in the Lake of the Woods area of Swope Park. The Mounted Patrol officers teach them all about horses and many aspects of horsemanship, such as how safely approach, care for, clean and outfit a horse. Every child also gets the chance to ride the horses.

Many of these children are from the urban core and have never before even been near a horse. Some are even scared of these gentle giants (KCPD horses must meet a certain height requirement - all are donated by area horse lovers), and the officers try to ease their fears. There is very little about policework discussed: it's true horsemanship training. Check out the pictures of the latest intrepid learners/riders!

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Police release sketch of Waldo-area robber

2011-07-22T09:29:00.001-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

UPDATE: We forgot to mention earlier that the suspect's ski mask came off during the course of the attack, and the victim was able to get a good look at his face.
________________________________________________

Kansas City Police have released a composite sketch of a man who attacked and robbed a woman at 80th and Wornall on Sunday morning.

A 20-year-old Kansas City woman had stopped at a car wash at about 6 a.m. July 19. She was sitting in the driver’s seat of her car with the door open, preparing to vacuum her vehicle. Suddenly, a man wearing a black ski mask and black shirt and pants appeared and forcefully pushed her into the passenger seat, slamming her head on the dashboard. The suspect held a knife to her head and told her he would kill her if she tried to run. He took $45 from her purse and ran from the scene.

The victim worked with a forensic sketch artist and detectives to produce this sketch. She described the suspect as a white male about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 150 to 160 pounds. He had brown hair and appeared to be about 24 years old.

Police urge anyone with information about the suspect to come forward by calling police or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Please note: A composite is not a portrait of one person, but a grouping of characteristics to put people into a category that narrows the search and eliminates other groups. It is intended to place the focus on a smaller grouping of individuals.

KCPD Crime Lab is first in nation approved to use "expert system" in DNA analysis in cases

2011-07-21T15:31:00.000-05:00

The FBI has approved the Kansas City Regional Crime Lab as the first municipal lab in the nation to use an "Expert System" for the review of known DNA samples. Essentially, an expert system eliminates the need for an additional person to review technical data involved with analyzing DNA. The computer system does it instead. The hope is that this will dramatically reduce the lab's DNA backlog. We received the formal approval from the FBI last month and will go live with the system in the next month or two. To date, only state-wide crime laboratories used this technology to assist in analyzing already-convicted offenders.

Kansas City will be the first to use expert systems on known DNA reference samples in active cases. For example, if DNA is found in a home that has been burglarized, the known sample would come from the home's residents, whose DNA would of course be on items throughout the house. The unknown sample would come from the burglar. We used known DNA samples to eliminate many suspects in the 2009-10 serial rapes in the Waldo area.

Our crime lab gets 2,000 to 3,000 known DNA samples every year. And as we continue to train officers and detectives to take DNA samples in things like property crimes, those will only increase. The good news is, this new expert system will allow our Crime Lab's DNA analysts to keep up with them all.

The Kansas City Regional Crime Lab received a grant from the National Institutes of Justice to explore ways to increase efficiency in DNA laboratories in new and innovative ways. The expert system was the result. Our scientists have worked a long time to thoroughly evaluate the efficacy and accuracy of the system, and we have utmost confidence in its work. The analysts are excited to put it to use, reduce the backlog and ultimately get cases solved and justice delivered more quickly.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

City, police are here to help in heat

2011-07-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

As the heat wave continues, I just wanted to let you know that police are here to help in events like this. If you are concerned about a friend, neighbor or relative without access to air conditioning who you have been unable to reach, especially an elderly one, call 911, and we can check on their welfare.

The City also announced today that residents seeking relief from the heat can call the City’s 3-1-1 Action Center to request transportation to one of the City-provided cooling centers. The 3-1-1 Action Center can be reached by dialing 311 or 816-513-1313. This transportation service is provided by Kansas City Fire Department personnel.

Here's a complete list of Kansas City's cooling centers. If you're outside of Kansas City, Mo., call United Way by dialing 211 or 816-474-5112 for a complete list of community centers and hours of operation.

In their wool-blend uniforms and bullet-resistant vests, police are struggling through the heat, as well. KMBZ has an interesting piece on how our helicopter officers are faring. (Our helicopters don't have air conditioning.) We're giving our officers the same advice that everyone should heed in these extreme temperatures: don't overdo it, keep hydrated, and stay in a cool place as much as possible.

We also all know how dangerous this kind of heat can be for any person or animal left in a car. In case you were worried, all cars assigned to our Canine Section are equipped with "hot dog" systems to keep the dogs inside cool while their officer partners are out of the vehicle.

Kansas City residents always step up in times of crisis, and we ask that you do the same during this deadly heat wave (the Jackson County Health Department has reported 10 heat-related deaths so far this year). Keep an eye on your frail friends and family during this time, and if you or someone you know needs a break from the heat, get to a cooling center.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

International Association of Chiefs of Police recognizes KCPD's social media approach

2011-07-18T15:54:00.001-05:00

I'm very pleased that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has recognized KCPD for our use of social media. We are the featured agency on their page right now, http://www.iacpsocialmedia.org/. IACP lauded us for using different social media platforms for different purposes. This was very intentional.

It all started here on this blog, which we use as a way to really tell our story without the filter of the media. I can tell you about heroic officers, crime trends, success stories and our view of local events and news stories. Next came Twitter, which we use to get short and timely news and information alerts out. Then was our YouTube channel, which we have used for everything from seeking suspects in surveillance videos to public service announcements to scary moments caught on dashcams to some just plain fun stuff. The latest edition was the KCPD Facebook page last fall. It's a fan page where you get to hear all the good news about the department and see the fun and positive things we do in the community. Once in a while you'll see the same message on these different platforms, but for the most part, they each serve their own purpose, and we appreciate the IACP recognizing that as a solid approach.

The point of all our social media has been and always will be to better connect with the people we serve. We hope it's a way to make police more approachable and accessible and to keep you informed of what's going on in your community. If you're not a friend or a follower, please become one! You'll learn a lot about your police department, and we hope it helps us learn more about you.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Painful memories of Hyatt collapse haunt police 30 years later

2011-07-15T10:50:00.002-05:00

Sunday, July 17, marks the 30th anniversary of the Kansas City Hyatt skywalks collapse, which killed 114 people and went down as the worst structural disaster in American history. I had been on the police department just two years on that day in 1981 and had been working a special property crimes assignment the week before, so it was my day off. I was spared seeing the carnage of that night, but many of my fellow officers who responded will never, ever forget that day. Our department newsletter, the Informant, published a story in August 2009 when plans for a memorial were announced. I've pasted that below. Long-retired officers - many known as consumate tough guys - broke into tears when they recalled that night. After the newsletter was mailed out to retirees, several called the department, just wanting to talk about their experiences and how the Hyatte collapse haunts them still.

The story below originally was published in August 2009. Some photos taken by police and crime scene technicians at the scene in 1981 are at the bottom. Only a few of our cameras took color pictures at that time. Some of these photos were taken the night of the disaster, and some the day after. You can click on any of them to see a larger version.

It was just after 7 p.m. July 17 when two KCPD cars were dispatched on an ambulance/medical call to the new Hyatt Regency Hotel. Then-Officer Gary Thurman, now a Captain, was only blocks away and one of the first to arrive. He had just finished his rookie year, and nothing could prepare him for what was to transpire over the course of the next few hours.

The Hyatt was hosting a Tea Dance, and the walkways were filled with revelers watching the dance floor below. In an instant, their lives and so many others were changed forever. It was 1981 – before major American terrorist attacks like those in Oklahoma City and Sept. 11, 2001 – and Kansas City was immersed in a disaster at a scale no one could imagine. Even now, 28 years later, the collapse of the three skywalks at the Hyatt Regency still stands as the deadliest structural disaster in American history. Plans were announced on the anniversary of the collapse this year to begin construction on a memorial. Kansas City Parks Director Mark McHenry said the memorial wasn’t just for the victims.

“It’s also about the police, firefighters and EMTs – the first responders and all they did to save lives that night,” McHenry said.

The memorial will honor people like Thurman, who said he grabbed a first aid kit and ran to the hotel lobby. Blood had turned the gushing water from broken pipes to maroon. Overhead were sparking wires. And screams, lots of screams.

“I’ve never felt so inadequate in my life,” Thurman said, “What can I do with a little first aid kit?”

Sergeant Tony Sanders was not yet a KCPD employee. He was a 21-year-old paramedic behind the wheel of the first ambulance to arrive.

“It was like a movie,” Sanders said. “As soon as we pulled up outside, injured, bleeding people were grabbing me, asking for help. Here I am, one guy, and there were so many that needed help.”

Officer Barry Mayer (retired 2002) had been on the department for five years. He arrived with the Central Patrol Division Support Unit. He was frozen for a moment when he saw a leg in a pool of red water. It looked like it could be his mother-in-law who had planned to be there that night. His partner, Officer Joe Kern (who retired in 1999 and is now a firearms instructor at the Police Academy), a wounded Vietnam War veteran, said nothing in ‘Nam was as bad as what he saw that night.

Public Affairs Officer Rick McLaughlin (retired 2004) was on call. The dispatcher requested he respond to handle the media on the scene. She told him there were reports of three dead, perhaps three more in the rubble. When he arrived, the 28th body was being pulled from the debris. The count would reach 114. While dealing with the local and national media arriving on the scene, he was asked to remove a reporter who had snuck into the temporary morgue. When McLaughlin reached the reporter, the reporter was bent over vomiting, sickened by the carnage.

Back at headquarters, Robbery Sergeant Joe McHale (retired 2001) and all the detectives on the second floor grabbed reports, cameras and film and headed for the Hyatt. A temporary morgue was established in a ballroom on the south side. The detectives were tagging the bodies, and a card system was established to identify victims. Families were shown Polaroid photos and then escorted to the morgue for a visual confirmation. It was a grisly task for everyone as the majority of the victims were crushed beyond recognition.

Department members channeled their emotions in different ways. One confided he was sleeping 12 hours a night. At first he thought it was exhaustion but later realized it was to escape the images and memories. Some kept it inside for years, never discussing it with family.

“It is a horrible memory, most likely the worst in your life, but you have a bond with those people and you know they are the only ones that understand what you went through,” said Officer Mike Wilson, (retired 2003) .

Now a memorial will be a tangible outlet for those feelings, but it will never supplant the grisly memories of those first-responders.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org

Get ready to come inside "The Murder Room"

2011-07-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

Tickets for the public to our special "Murder Room" event with world-renowned forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Richard Walter are still available. The video below explains more about the event:

Help needed to find missing 84-year-old woman

2011-07-13T13:59:00.001-05:00

JULY 18 UPDATE: Sadly, Mary Northcraft was found deceased at about 9:20 a.m. in her car in the Applebee's parking lot at 12461 S. U.S. 71 Highway in Grandview, Mo. Her cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner. Thanks to all of you who helped look for her.

We're very worried about 84-year-old Mary Northcraft, who has been missing since about noon on Monday, July 11. Ms. Northcraft has dementia, and her family is very concerned. We have found no trace of her since she went missing.

Ms. Northcraft is white, 5 feet tall and weighs about 110 pounds. She has gray hair, blue eyes and glasses. She may be driving a silver 2001 Chevy Malibu with Missouri license plate PE9 A9V. She was last seen near her home in the 11400 block of Oak in south Kansas City.

If you've seen her, please call 911 or the KCPD Missing Persons Section at 816-234-5136.

Gun Bounty program already seeing great tips

2011-07-12T16:54:00.000-05:00

Some good news: the Gun Bounty Program we announced June 29 already is bringing in solid leads. John Sharp, chair of the Public Safety Committee on the Kansas City Council, reported to the Board of Police Commissioners yesterday that several good tips came in before 5 p.m. the day we had the press conference introducing the program.

Remember, the Gun Bounty Program will pay $1,000 cash anonymously to whomever gives us a tip that leads to a felony weapons charge. This can be anything from a felon possessing a firearm to a stolen gun or one that's serial number has been removed. Tips must be received through the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

The last week has proved how important it is to get these weapons off the streets - from an 11-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet on the Fourth of July to multiple senseless homicides. All died at the hands of firearms. In nearly 86 percent of our 56 homicides year to date, the weapon was a gun. Call TIPS to help get them out of the hands who possess them illegally and walk away with $1,000.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Commonality in most traffic deaths this year: no seat belts

2011-07-11T13:37:00.000-05:00

I wrote a week ago about the increase in traffic deaths this year, and we learned this morning about another disturbing trend. Deputy Chief Cy Ritter reported at our Board of Police Commissioners meeting that 79 percent of those killed in crashes in Kansas City so far this year were not wearing seat belts. As of today, Kansas City has had 39 people killed in vehicle crashes in 2011.

Many were single-vehicle crashes in which the driver lost control and left the roadway. About 17 percent were motorcycles. But the greatest commonality in this year's fatalities is the lack of seat belts. According to the Missouri Division of the Federal Highway Administration, Missouri's overall seat belt usage of 77 percent is well below the national average of 84 percent. Seat belt usage among teens in Missouri is just 61 percent. So far this year, youth aged 10 to 19 have comprised 17 percent of Kansas City's fatalities. About 41 percent of those who have died in crashes this year have been ejected from their vehicles. Ejection is something a seat belt almost always can prevent.

I've only addressed fatalities so far. I haven't even mentioned the egregious injuries that can occur without seat belts - the paralysis, the broken bones and head injuries. There's a 1 in 3 chance of being injured in a traffic crash if you're not wearing a seat belt and only a 1 in 8 chance of being injured if you are, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Similarly, there is a 1 in 29 chance of being killed in a traffic crash without wearing a seat belt while just a 1 in 1,322 chance if you are wearing a belt. Those are far, far better odds.

It may be cliche, but seat belts really do save lives, and we should be saving more of them here in Kansas City.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

New ordinance will help prevent crime on vacant property

2011-07-08T12:39:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty excited to report about a new ordinance passed by the City Council that now is in effect. We wrote about it in our May Informant newsletter, and I've pasted that article below. In short, police were having a horrible time getting cases prosecuted on those who stole from and vandalized vacant homes. Many had been foreclosed on, and the banks that owned them refused to act as victims and prosecute. The new ordinance essentially makes Kansas City the victim, and it will allow us to punish those who destroy neighborhoods. Click to read the new ordinance.

Here's the Informant article explaining why this was so needed:

While there is no official “victim” to sign a complaint when vacant houses are burglarized or damaged, Officer Jason Cooley said neighborhoods are what suffers.

“An out-of-state bank or owner has no investment in the community,” Officer Jason Cooley of the East Patrol Division said. “They’re not going to come here as the victim for a charge in city court. Meanwhile, neighborhoods are suffering, crime rates are sky-rocketing and property values are declining.”

Officer Cooley is working with officials in the City’s Neighborhood and Community Services Division to create an ordinance that would charge those who burglarize and vandalize vacant properties. Right now, police can watch someone tear out and steal copper from a vacant home, and the person will serve no jail time if the home’s owner cannot be contacted. About 45 percent of burglaries throughout the city occur in vacant properties.

“In order for us to charge someone, we have to prove a crime occurred, we have to prove a specific person did it, and we have to prove a specific victim suffered loss,” said Sergeant Brad Lemon of the Metro Patrol Division Property Crimes Section. “Right now, we can do two out of the three. We can’t do the last one.”

The mortgage crisis that began in 2008 continues to ripple through Kansas City. The Kansas City Star reported on April 19 that the city had about 12,000 vacant properties, up 20 percent since 2007. Many have been foreclosed on and are now owned by major national banks. Those banks are generally unwilling to prosecute when crimes occur on the homes in their portfolio.

“We have had zero successful prosecutions on bank-owned properties,” Sergeant Lemon said. “Burglaries have been out of control the last three years.”

Arsons also have been problematic. Kansas City recorded arsons at 103 vacant buildings in 2010. But a new ordinance could finally force criminals who prey on vacant properties to face jail time. The ordinance is under legal review right now but could come before the City Council soon. It would prohibit anyone from entering, damaging, or stealing from a vacant property.

“In essence, the City would be the victim,” Officer Cooley said.

Officer Cooley started pushing for the ordinance after riding along with Cleveland, Ohio, police during a vacant properties conference in October 2010. Cleveland officers said the problem had gotten so out of hand that thieves were causing explosions by stealing natural gas lines from vacant houses. The new ordinance allowed Cleveland to list the city as the victim of these crimes when no property owner could be contacted. Assistant Kansas City Prosecutor Beth Murano said no one has challenged Cleveland’s law.

Neighborhood leaders strongly support the new ordinance in Kansas City, Officer Cooley said.

“Community groups are excited about anything that can help,” he said. “… A lot of times, we catch these jokers, but when we can’t locate a victim, we simply have to let them go. With this, at least we have something to take them to jail for.”

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Employee struck at DUI checkpoint doing well

2011-07-07T16:29:00.000-05:00

I am happy to report that Greg Sowers, the KCPD fleet operations technician who was hit at a DUI checkpoint last month, is recovering nicely. After a week in the hospital and several more weeks at home recuperating, he was able to meet with the media today to discuss his ordeal. He's getting around pretty well on crutches but faces up to a year before his leg will be completely healed. He suffered a major break in his tibia, effectively separating the lower part of his leg from the upper part just below the knee. After a surgery with a metal plate and 10 screws, doctors have told him he could eventually get more than 90 percent of the original usage of his leg back. Greg said he misses running, playing softball and riding his motorcycle, but he acknowledged he's only alive "by the grace of God."

Greg credited his motorcycle riding with playing a part in saving his life. He said he's laid a bike down a few times before - never with more than minor injuries - and knew how to take a fall. Still, nothing could prepare him for what he experienced in the early morning hours of June 11. A car intent on fleeing the checkpoint plowed through it and struck Greg. He said he tried to get out of the way, but the car seemed to be coming at him, and he hit the hood. He grabbed onto a windshield wiper as the vehicle hit another police car and then took off. At one point, Greg said he realized he still had his flashlight in his hand and dropped it to grab onto the other wiper. He said all he wanted was for the car to slow down enough to let him off.

He eventually knew the car wasn't slowing down, so he said he curled up in a ball so he could be prepared to roll off if it didn't stop. This obscured some of the driver's vision, and Greg remembers the driver whipping the car back and forth to shake him off. He eventually did at 82nd and Troost, six blocks from the checkpoint. Greg said he hit the ground on all fours. His leg had been broken on the initial impact with the car. Police found him on the road a minute or two later and got an ambulance there. Greg gave credit to the tough jacket he'd borrowed from a motorcycle officer earlier that night for saving him from road rash and worse injuries.

Greg is a resilient guy. He said he'd love to work more DUI checkpoints, but he's going to honor the wishes of his mother and girlfriend and not do so.

Because of this incident, we've changed some of our protocol at checkpoints. Civilian employees like Greg no longer will stand in the check lane. Only officers will drive cars of suspected drunk drivers off the roadway, which is what Greg had been doing that night. Officers also now are equipped with Stop Sticks at DUI checkpoints to deflate the tires of those who might flee and cause a danger to others.

Tyrone Campbell, 25, has been charged with hitting Greg. He's pictured below.

All of us here at KCPD are so grateful Greg made it through this ordeal, and we wish him a very speedy recovery and swift return to our Fleet Operations Unit!

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

"Murder Room" inspiration coming to lecture at Police Academy

2011-07-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

If you've ever heard of the Vidocq Society, then you'll be pretty excited about an event coming to the Kansas City Regional Police Academy on July 20. If you haven't heard of it, I suspect you'll still find it very interesting. The group is profiled in the book, The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo. The book was published last fall and has been on multiple best-seller lists since.

The insipration for the book, Richard Walter, will be at the Police Academy (6885 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 20 in an event co-sponsored by KCPD and Rainy Day Books. Walter is one of the three co-founders of the Vidocq Society and something of a genius in the realm of criminal psychology. As Michael Capuzzo puts it, "Richard Walter's nickname at ... Scotland Yard is 'Living Sherlock Holmes.'" He developed a number of psychological classifications for violent crime and interviewed 22,000 felons as a psychologist in Michigan's prison system. He's been called the "Father of Criminal Profiling."

This NPR story excerpts an interview with Walter and part of The Murder Room, and is just a taste of what you'll hear July 20. Tickets are $35 and will include a signed copy of the book. To get tickets, contact Angela McCune at 816-413-3500 or e-mail angela.mccune@kcpd.org.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Midwest Investigative Support Center named the best in the nation

2011-07-05T16:33:00.000-05:00

On June 21, the Kansas City-based Midwest High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Investigative Support Center was named the top HIDTA in the nation by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, besting 26 other centers nationwide at an awards program in Washington, D.C.

Staffed by several KCPD members, Midwest HIDTA was recognized for providing critical intelligence linkages that support federal, state and local law enforcement officers. They supported 890 investigations in 2010, a 33 percent increase over the previous year. Several of these investigations were massive in scale, spreading across the United States and Mexico. These were organizations that dump literally tons of drugs into the Kansas City area and throughout the Midwest. The intelligence gathered and analyzed by the local Investigative Support Center led to the identity and arrest of key players in several of these drug-trafficking organizations and the seizure of thousands of pounds of narcotics.

Our Investigative Support Center also has helped law enforcement agencies nationwide who intercept drugs transported by traffickers share information with each other. This helps target the larger-scale national and international organizations that funnel in the drugs that can destroy urban neighborhoods.

Congratulations to Midwest HIDTA Investigative Support Center and the officers who work there, proving once again that some of the best cops in the United States are right here at KCPD.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Input sought for Chief selection process

2011-07-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

I've previously announced that I will retire from the position of Chief of Police on Sept. 16 of this year. The Board of Police Commissioners will be hiring the next chief, and they need your input. Read the below press release to see which forums are closest to you.

The Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners will be soliciting input from the public about what qualities they would like to see in the next chief of police.

The Board invites the public to attend three meetings in the coming weeks to tell board members their ideas. The meetings will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on the following dates at the following locations:

• July 6, Wednesday – Hillcrest Community Center, 10401 Hillcrest Road
• July 7, Thursday – Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, 3700 Blue Parkway
• July 11, Monday – Police Academy auditorium, 6885 N.E. Pleasant Valley Road

Tough new laws will help prosecution of drunk drivers

2011-06-30T15:54:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a press conference at the office of Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd to help announce an initiative that I hope will lead to the conviction of more impaired drivers. Last year, Missouri legislators approved sweeping changes to the state's driving while impaired (DWI) laws. One was that drivers who refuse a breath alcohol test now can be subjected to a warrantless draw of their blood. Courts have upheld this law because the body metabolizes alcohol so quickly that by the time a warrant could be obtained, critical evidence could be lost. Previously, drivers who refused a breath test could lose their license for a year but often could avoid a drunk driving conviction. This new law changes that.

Platte County will be the first in the metropolitan area to conduct warrantless blood draws of drunk driving suspects. Because a decent portion of Kansas City is in Platte County - including our North Patrol Division Station - we will be participating. If a drunk driving suspect refuses a breath test, a nurse will be brought to North Patrol to draw the suspect's blood. In some cases, this could even exonerate the suspsect.

We hope this certainly will make people think twice about getting behind the wheel of a vehicle intoxicated. I wrote Monday about the tragic loss of life this has caused in Kansas City.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

New Gun Bounty Program pays cash for tips leading to gun charges

2011-06-29T11:58:00.000-05:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Beginning July 1, an innovative new program will pay a large amount of cash to tipsters who can help area police get illegal guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.

The Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission, Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline, Kansas City Missouri Police Department, City of Kansas City, Missouri, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), US Attorney’s Office and Jackson County Prosecutor have formed a partnership to address gun crime in our community. These organizations will work in conjunction with local police chiefs and sheriffs on this important metro-wide initiative to address violent crime beginning July 1.

Thanks in large part to donations from the City of Kansas City, Missouri and businesses in our community, the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline is introducing a Gun Bounty program which will pay $1,000 in cash to anonymous callers to the TIPS Hotline for reporting:

1. A tip that leads to the arrest of a suspect,
2. the recovery of a firearm and,
3. the filing of felony charges related to the recovery of the weapon.

This is not a gun buyback program. It is a public safety program designed to remove illegal firearms from the hands of criminals, especially gangs. The anonymous tip must originate through the TIPS Hotline, and area law enforcement will be responsible for confirming the eligibility for reward of tips received. Presently, a fund totaling approximately $32,500 is available for the program. Donations to the fund are welcome and can be sent to the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission – Gun Bounty Program.

The program has been very successful in Miami, and Kansas City is modeling its program after that one.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Greater Kansas City TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). Tips also can be submitted electronically at KCcrimestoppers.com, or by texting TIP452 and your information to 274637 (CRIMES).

This map (click on it to see a larger version) shows guns recovered and offenses with guns in Kansas City in 2010. We hope the Gun Bounty program will reduce these dots significantly:

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Number of those killed in traffic crashes up 30% so far over last year

2011-06-27T16:42:00.000-05:00

Around the beginning of summer each year, the cries ring out about the number of homicides that have taken place in Kansas City. The amount of lives lost to bullets and poor conflict resolution is truly appalling. Residents, activists and others call for something to be done to stop the violence, and rightfully so.

But there is no outrage for the other lives lost just as senselessly in traffic crashes. There are no large, public vigils and few cries for change.

As of today, Kansas City has had 48 homicides in 2011. This is very in line with the previous years, (50 at this point in 2010, 54 in 2009 and 47 in 2008). But traffic deaths are up 30 percent over last year. Thirty-five people (police are working a possible fatal hit-and-run crash right now, which could bring the total up to 36) have been killed in crashes so far this year compared to 27 at this time in 2010. That's a 30 percent increase. Unlike homicides over the past several years, which have gone up and down, traffic fatalities have continued a steady upward climb from a total of 58 in 2006 to 68 in 2010.

Last year, 63 percent of all fatal crashes in Kansas City involved a driver who was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If only this statistic inspired the outrage and passion for change that the homicide statistic does. The loss of lives to crashes involving an impaired driver are totally preventable. We do all we can to prevent this through efforts like DUI saturation enforcement and DUI checkpoints, but we cannot possibly stop everyone who decides to get behind the wheel after imbibing.

The acronym for Mothers Against Drunk Driving - MADD - could not be more appropriate. We should be mad. We should be very upset that some think it's OK to operate a large machine capable of killing others when they're in no state to do so. We should be outraged at those who strike a pedestrian or other car and then flee the scene of the crash. We should make a stand against the reckless drivers who endanger so many people on our roadways. I hope people of Kansas City will become just as furious about the lives lost to crashes as the lives lost to bullets.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Remember, no fireworks in Kansas City

2011-06-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

With fireworks tents popping up all around the metro area, it's a good time to remind Kansas City residents that these explosives are not allowed in the city limits. Celebrate our nation's birthday by going the safe route and watching a much more impressive public fireworks display instead. The below video shows what police do with fireworks we confiscate illegally from inside the city limits: our Bomb and Arson section detonates and burns them much like they do any other explosive because fireworks can be equally dangerous.

Home from Joplin

2011-06-23T15:15:00.000-05:00

At about 6 p.m. yesterday, June 22, the last of the KCPD officers who have been assisting in Joplin, Mo., since the devastating tornado there one month ago returned home. Reporter Josh Letner of the Joplin Globe newspaper wrote a fantastic article last weekend about the nearly 100 KCPD officers who have served in Joplin and how incredibly well received we were there.

As one of our tactical squad sergeants told the reporter, “I’ve had more thanks in the time I’ve been down here than in the 21 years that I’ve been a police officer in Kansas City. That’s not to say I’ve never been thanked, but almost everybody you run into is thanking you. We’ve been awestruck at how thankful people are.”

Nearly all the officers who served in Joplin have consistently said how amazing the residents there were despite their unthinkable adversity. They were so friendly, so willing to help and in great spirits. As mentioned in the Globe’s article, many residents even applauded the officers at a restaurant. It was pretty overwhelming emotionally when our officers learned many of those who clapped for them had been rendered homeless by the tornado.

We sent a total of about 95 officers and several more civilian communications and fleet employees to Joplin to help them as they recover from this disaster. We were blessed to work alongside the Kansas City Fire Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and first responders from across the Midwest, as well as thousands of selfless volunteers. The Joplin Police Department performed and continues to perform faithfully in the most difficult time in the city’s history, and it was an honor to serve alongside them.

The Joplin Globe said, “It doesn’t take much time traveling the streets of Joplin to notice the presence of KCPD.” I’m pretty certain most of the KCPD personnel who served there will remember that experience for the rest of their careers.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Kit aims to prevent business robberies

2011-06-22T16:07:00.000-05:00

This month's Informant newsletter discusses a tool we'll soon be rolling out to prevent business robberies. Many pieces of the Business Robbery Prevention Kit are now available on our Robbery Unit's web page. Check out the newsletter story below to learn more about it:

The woman who owns and operates a small Hispanic market in Northeast Kansas City was viciously attacked by a robber with a tire iron in late April. The suspect came in, asked about tamales, then went behind the register, stole hundreds of dollars and beat the store owner to the point she required 33 staples in her scalp.

She is the kind of person Detective Cristin Stammler of the Robbery Unit hopes to help with a new business robbery prevention program. Kansas City had 410 business robberies in 2010, but Detective Stammler noticed a difference in how they were handled.

“There’s a more consistent response from corporate businesses than mom-and-pop stores,” he said. “Smaller businesses seemed to be getting hit more. I thought maybe there’s something we could do to proactively prevent business robberies or minimize the chance of a violent confrontation.”

Detective Stammler said corporately owned businesses typically have formal training for their employees about robbery prevention and what to do should one take place. Smaller businesses often don’t. That’s where KCPD will step in. Adapting a program developed by the Mesa, Ariz., Police Department, Detective Stammler has created a “robbery kit” to assist Kansas City business owners.

The kit, which is available in English and Spanish, includes a height strip for owners to put by the front door, a brochure with lots of prevention tips, and a step-by-step booklet outlining what employees should do if a robbery takes place that includes everything from what to say to the 911 dispatcher to how to preserve the crime scene. The booklet contains a form to write down suspects’ appearance, clothing, vehicle and weapons. It also has a sign employees can post on their doors saying the business is temporarily closed because of an emergency.

“The kit is meant to be kept at the work station, under the cash register,” Detective Stammler said. “You just flip through the steps and don’t have to remember everything. It’s a very traumatic situation to be a robbery victim, and even the simplest of tasks can seem impossible.”

Detective Stammler has contacted each of the six patrol division’s community interaction officers to learn which businesses will most benefit from the kits. He’s putting that together with a list of businesses that have been robbed the most. Once that list is compiled within the next one to two months, robbery detectives personally will visit each of the businesses to deliver the robbery kits.

“That face-to-face contact is important,” Detective Stammler said. “Hopefully they’ll get to know us and call us if they have questions.”

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