Trend of violence against children is very disturbing

We have had a very disturbing trend of violence against children in the Kansas City metro area lately. These children are among the most vulnerable of our community, and it is everyone's duty to do keep them from harm and to bring about justice for those who have harmed children. Staying silent when a child has been injured or killed is inexcusable cowardice. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has noted this tragic string of violent acts against children in the metro area. She issued a press release this weekend that I wanted to share with you. Several of these cases, like the murder of 14-year-old Alexis Kane and 3-year-old Damiah White and her mother, remain unsolved. Please do the right thing and call the TIPS Hotline if you have any information at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Disturbing trend of child abuse and death

We have recently seen in our Metro area an alarming and disturbing trend of our children falling prey to horrendous acts of violence, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a prepared statement released today.

These children are an integral part of our community and they are defenseless, innocent and easily injured, Baker continued. Our children have been shot, beaten, burned and abused. Our metro area should not be a dangerous or perilous place for children to reside.

It is our community’s duty to protect them, to look after them. We must secure our weapons, never strike them when angry, get immediate medical care when they are injured, and report, report, report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect. When kids are abused, neglected, in danger, shot, beaten, burned or abused, we should not walk to the police station to help; we should run for help.

Failing to protect these children is society’s greatest failing. We must do better.

What follows is just a partial list of the many recent cases in which child have become victims of violence or neglect:

- Friday, January 16: a 2-year old child is shot inside his south KC home

- Sunday, January 11: 7-year old seriously injured after being struck by gunfire on I-70

- Sunday, January 11: 14-year-old Alexis Kane, was found dead outside a South KC Water Park.

- Friday, January 9: 2-year-old Lorenzo Estrada was beaten and died of his injuries on January 10.

- Thursday, January 8: 7-month-old, J.S., was discovered with burns from injuries occurring earlier in December.

- Wednesday, January 7: 3-year-old T.D. shot inside her KCMO home at 38th and Chestnut.

- Sunday, January 4: 7-month-old Jaquail Mansaw killed inside a KCK home.

- Friday, December 26: 4-year-old boy was struck by gunfire as his home on Hardesty was fired upon.

- Friday, December 12: 2-year-old K.G.K., from Independence, sustained burns.

- Sunday, October 26: 10-year-old Machole Stewart killed inside a KCK home.

- Friday, October 17: 6-year-old Angel Hooper killed outside a South KC gas station.

In addition, we remember 10-year-old Kavyea Curry who was paralyzed from a shooting that also killed his father on Friday, April 19, 2014. A 5-year-old was also in the car. And we remember Damiah White, just 3, who was found murdered in her home during on Friday, August 23, 2013. Her and her mother’s murder remains unsolved. We await your call. There is no statute of limitations on murder.

Jackson County Prosecutor's Office gets justice for victims and families

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and her staff have brought justice to hundreds of victims and families in Kansas City, and I greatly value their partnership.

The Prosecutor’s office works with our detectives and officers on a daily basis to hold accountable those who commit crimes, especially violent crimes. Jackson County sends more killers to prison than any other county in Missouri. From 2009-2013, nearly 200 defendants went to prison for manslaughter and murder. That is far more than even St. Louis.

And when someone goes to prison for a violent crime in Jackson County, the state’s own sentencing report data shows they go for a longer time than violent offenders in rural and suburban counties.

In addition to ensuring that those who commit crimes receive the appropriate punishments, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office also is partnering with the community and our department to prevent violent crime before it happens. They have been a key component of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA). This focused-deterrence program targets those at the epicenters of criminal networks for aggressive police enforcement and prosecution. Meanwhile, it offers services and resources to those on the fringes of criminal networks who want to seek out a new path away from a life of crime. It’s showing promising results: homicides in Kansas City are down by a third from year-to-date totals in the previous five years.

As I’ve said many times, the criminal justice system needs the support of the community to make our community safe. More violent offenders end up in prison when we work together.

I have confidence in Jean Peters Baker and her staff to take on the toughest cases and see that justice is served in our community. 

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

KC NoVA moving forward, set to make big impact on violent crime in 2013

In May of this year, we and several partner agencies announced the creation of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance – or KC NoVA. Since that time, pieces are falling into place to significantly reduce the City’s violent crime in 2013. Repeat offenders who are all too familiar with the criminal justice system will see harsh legal consequences like never before because the system is going to work differently.

KC NoVA is a focused deterrence model similar to what has worked in other cities like Cincinnati and Boston. (Homicides fell by 47 percent in Cincinnati with this type of program.) It focuses law enforcement resources on the most violent offenders and groups while incorporating various systems of support to help lower-level offenders change their paths. Here in Kansas City, it incorporates municipal and federal law enforcement; local, state and federal prosecutors; Probation and Parole; the City; the juvenile justice system and academic research.

Here at KCPD, I have assigned a captain to oversee the project, as well as a sergeant and two detectives. But the whole department will be participating in gathering intelligence and identifying the worst perpetrators of crime in our city. The KC NoVA team is collocated with prosecutors in the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, and they are working with a research team at the University of Missouri Kansas City to analyze and diagram the city’s criminal networks, targeting the most central figures for swift and certain prosecution.

Those who are on the periphery of those networks and not as heavily involved in violent crime also will be targeted, but for different reasons. They will be offered social services to help them leave crime behind and become productive members of society. They will be assigned case managers who will assist them with things like anger management, life skills, job training, housing and transportation.

Many of these violent crime prevention efforts also begin with offenders re-entering the City after serving time in prison for violent offenses. We are partnering with Probation and Parole like never before. Just last week, a team of KCPD officers met with a man who had been in prison for 26 years and was getting out that day. The officers told him about the resources available to him for successfully re-entering society and let him know they would be checking on him regularly. He is going back to be surrounded by many of the same violent people he was when he committed the crime, but we hope these interventions will help him turn away from those negative influences.

KC NoVA also is working with faith-based communities, family members of those involved in violent crime and neighborhoods to deter violent crime and heal communities.

Deterrence is KC NoVA’s ultimate goal. We hope to achieve this by cracking down very hard on the most violent offenders and giving lower-level offenders the tools they need to get away from a life of crime. I anticipate that you will see a significant reduction in homicides and aggravated assaults in 2013 and the years to come thanks to KC NoVA’s efforts.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Neighborhood Prosecution Teams

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.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org