Solving and preventing homicides calls for community cooperation

Today’s Kansas City Star features a front-page story about our department’s homicide clearance rate. The raw numbers show that we cleared 55 percent of the city’s 106 homicides in 2013, but the article does a good job of pointing out how nuanced of a number that is. According to federal reporting guidelines, for instance, we have a 69 percent clearance rate because we cleared 15 homicides in 2013 that happened in prior years.

We still have a lot of work to do in clearing homicide cases, but I am proud of the progress we’ve made. In 2010, we cleared just 42 percent of that year’s killings. Three years later, that rate is up to 55 percent. I expect those numbers to continue to climb. The single greatest factor in solving a homicide is community cooperation. As Homicide Sergeant Martin Cobbinah said so well in the Star article, “We rise or fall with their help. When we’re solving a lot of cases, it’s because we’re getting a lot of help from the community.”

I have made improving relations between police and the community one of my top priorities as Chief of Police. It works hand-in-hand with my other top priority: reducing violent crime. While 45 percent of 2013’s homicides are technically not cleared, our detectives know who the suspects are in the majority of them. But witnesses often won’t assist with prosecution. The more we get those witnesses – and the community as a whole – to trust us, the more cases get solved. We can eliminate the desire for vigilante justice that turns murder suspects into victims. When the community understands that police can help bring real justice, the needless tit-for-tat violence that endangers innocent bystanders will decline. We are working to bring that understanding through programs like the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA). This program targets our city’s most violent offenders – the ones who insist on perpetuating this cycle of violence – for aggressive prosecution. For those less-violent offenders on the periphery, it offers them a way out through support and social services.

I often hear that police need to do something to prevent our city’s homicides. We are. Through initiatives like KC NoVA, Hot Spot policing, the Area Command Unit, the Lethality Assessment Protocol for domestic violence victims and even the Police Athletic League, we are working to reduce the violence.

But there are some murders we are helpless to stop. In many cases, the suspect and victim know each other, they get angry, and they use a gun to solve their problems. We can’t be there every time that happens. Fights that end people’s lives are over everything from drugs to small amounts of money to a perceived feeling of disrespect. Until a cultural change brings about a greater respect for life and a better way of solving problems and managing anger, many of these killings will continue, regardless of what police do. Again, this is where we need the community’s help. Parents, educators, churches, businesses, the criminal justice system and others must work together to instill these values in upcoming generations. Petty disagreements – even serious arguments – are not worth taking another’s life. There are far more effective ways of resolving problems.

As in so many other things in police work, the community is the key component to solving and preventing homicides. The members of this department and I look forward to helping you create a safer city.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Welcome, Commissioner Kilgore

Gov. Jay Nixon recently appointed Michael Kilgore as the newest member of the Board of Police Commissioners, and he was sworn in at today's Board Meeting. He replaces Lisa Pelofsky, who has dedicatedly served on the Board since 2010.

According to a release from the Governor's office, "Kilgore is an attorney with the firm of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain. From 2006 to 2010, he served as a member of the Missouri Ethics Commission, including serving as its chair from 2008 to 2010. Kilgore previously was an assistant attorney general with the Missouri Attorney General's Office and an assistant prosecuting attorney in Jackson County. He obtained his law degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending Jan. 6, 2018."

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Police Athletic League is changing lives

I recently attended a Police Athletic League board meeting and was so impressed with what I saw and heard. In case you haven’t heard of it, KCPD’s Police Athletic League (PAL) aims 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. PAL is a non-profit organization staffed by Kansas City Police officers. A board of very generous folks from around the area governs the organization.

The impact PAL has had on the lives of urban-core children, many of whom live in poverty, cannot be overstated. Some of these children have gone on to college with academic and athletic scholarships, attaining careers they never would have thought possible at employers like Ford and Sprint. One graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and is a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. Another is an NBA player. I have been so touched and impressed with the difference PAL is making that I've ordered all of our command staff to spend some time at PAL by the end of March to understand the impact it's having on our community.

Below are just a few of PAL’s recent success stories, as shared by Youth Services commander Captain James Thomas:

* One of our seventh/eighth-grade tackle football players passed out during practice. The young man, who is in pretty good shape, was really struggling. The coaches/officers offered first aid, and the young player fortunately suffered no permanent health issues. But in talking with the player, the officers discovered he had not eaten for a couple of days. The officers then met with the single mother and discovered there was little food in the household. Despite working two jobs, she had severe financial struggles, and the kids were often responsible for preparing their own meals while she was at work. The officers immediately developed a plan, reaching out to corporate PAL partners to create an emergency food drive, while contacting city services to link the family with financial assistance. The officers did this in a low-key manner so as not to embarrass the family. The young player had been ashamed of his background and refused to share his struggles with anyone else, even when it made him sick. But because of the relationship he had with the officers of the PAL Center, he finally opened up, and his whole family was able to receive much-needed assistance.

* A PAL officer met a 10-year-old boy at his school while recruiting for our flag football team. He was going down the wrong path, getting in trouble at school and getting bad grades. The boy agreed to play for the team, but his mother disapproved because she didn’t like police. The PAL officer explained the benefits of the PAL program and although skeptical, the mother agreed to let her son participate. In addition to football, he enrolled in the PAL Upper Room reading program. The Officer took on a father/parent figure role and mentored the child, as many of the officers do with all our kids. The young man became an A/B student and has formed a strong bond with the officer. Not only has the young man gained an adult mentor, his mother now has a positive attitude about the police.

 * A young girl came to PAL as a broken 9-year-old. We had no idea of her struggles, but through a relationship with an officer/coach, it was discovered she had low self-esteem and lacked confidence. She was very isolated and had been accosted by an adult family member. The officer asked if she would be interested in boxing. Although reluctant at first, she decided to give it a try. Today, she is a thriving young person full of confidence and a peer leader at PAL. She has found success in school and in the boxing ring. She is a permanent fixture at PAL and is a shadow of the person who first came to us. She mentors, referees games, and assists younger children with homework and reading.

* Two of our PAL kids were involved in a drive-by shooting at their house. The shooting arose out of a dispute over a girl, and a 2-year-old in the home was shot. The toddler was in the hospital for about a week. Although both parents worked, the family had limited income. PAL officers and Board members donated time and money for meals to ensure the family received essential needs. The 2-year-old returned home, and the family celebrated with a donated Thanksgiving Day feast. The officer who was working with the family made a home visit and found that the family did not have enough beds for all family members legs and lived out of a mini refrigerator. A collection was taken among officers and friends of officers to purchase the family two sets of bunk beds and a full-size refrigerator.

* Last month, officers learned a PAL youth was living in a household with no electricity or heat. The family was cooking dinner on a barbecue grill. Board members learned of the situation and procured a stove, water heater and worked with utility companies to get utilities restored to the house. This included a mini makeover of the house to improve insulation and rewiring the house to make it safe.

If you'd like for your child to be involved in the Police Athletic League, call Sergeant Brad Deichler at 816-413-3621.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org  

Area Command Unit gets 200 illegal guns off the street in 2013

The Area Command Unit marked an impressive accomplishment last night: it took its 200^th illegal gun off the street.

I activated the Area Command Unit on January 1, 2013. The unit was tasked with the primary goals of targeting active, violent criminals involved in firearm violations and suppressing violent crime. In addition to the target objectives, the Area Command Unit works collaboratively with all department units to continually stay aware of active criminal elements in the city. The unit is aggressive in its efforts to seek out these elements and pursue successful prosecution of individuals found to be violating laws, with a concentrated focus on illegal firearms. The Area Command Unit also serves as the primary enforcement arm of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA).

Last night, Area Command Unit officers did a “knock and talk” at a house in the 4100 block of Monroe, where officers conducting surveillance previously had seen guns being sold in the front yard. The resident consented to let officers search part of his house except for one room, and the officers then got a warrant to search that room. They recovered five guns, ammunition and magazines. They were illegal because the resident is a convicted felon, and felons are prevented from possessing firearms or ammunition by federal law.

Those five guns brought the Area Command Unit’s total of illegal weapons taken off the street this year to 200. Illegal weapons are used in a significant amount of the city’s violent crime, and now there are 200 that can’t be.

We initially activated the Area Command Unit within the boundaries of the East Patrol Division, then expanded to Central and Metro patrol divisions in March. The Area Command Unit consists of three Squads, made up of six officers, one detective and a sergeant. The Unit also has an operations sergeant and is commanded by a captain who reports to the Patrol Bureau. I look forward to seeing more of their great work in 2014.

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Females comprise nearly 1/3 of graduating Academy class.

The 149^th Entrant Officer Class will graduate from the Kansas City Regional Police Academy on Thursday night, and I’m proud of the diversity it represents. Thirty-one men and women will take the oath that night to uphold the law in Kansas City.

We often talk about the necessity of a police department that reflects the community, and usually those conversations are in the context of race. That is indeed very important, but about half the community we serve is female, and our department – as well as most other law enforcement agencies – has a long way to go before we reflect that demographic.

This graduating class has the highest percentage of females that anyone on the department can recall. Nearly a third – 10 out of the 31 – are women. Women bring unique strengths and perspectives that can be lacking in the male-dominated field of law enforcement, and I’m happy to see them filling our ranks.

Last year marked the first time our department ever has had two female deputy chiefs at the same time, and I am confident that a woman will be chief of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department in the not-so-distant future.

We’re not going to take a rest now and celebrate. Obviously, more work needs to be done. Fortunately, this trend is continuing. The 150^th Entrant Officer Class is in training now. Out of the 45 KCPD entrant officers, 12 are female. Our recruiters will continue to encourage females to apply, as well as a wide array of people from different races, socioeconomic backgrounds and cultural experiences.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.  

New unit is devoted to helping violent crime victims

I'm excited about our new Victim Assistance Unit and how it's reaching out to victims of violent crime. It was one of my first priorities. Within three days of my appointment to Chief, I picked a director who could put the Victim Assistance Unit together. Check out this story about the Unit from our Informant newsletter:

Often before a detective is even assigned to an aggravated assault case, a victim assistance specialist in the new Victim Assistance Unit already has reached out to the victim.

The new unit is part of the Community Support Division and went live on Sept. 9. It is staffed by three sworn officers and a civilian who was a former officer and crime scene technician. But they don’t wear uniforms.

“We don’t say anything about being police officers or detectives (when talking to victims),” Specialist Detective Jerry Grubb said. “We just tell them we’re victim assistance specialists.”

Community Support Division Manager Doug Weishar said every day, the specialists are assigned whatever aggravated assault cases took place the night before. Oftentimes, their cases haven’t even been assigned to a detective yet. The victim assistance specialists’ job is to contact the victims and offer them three things:

1.)    Information on victim assistance, such as what their rights are by state statute and information on victim compensation.

2.)    Answers to any questions they have about the criminal justice system and where their case is in it.

3.)    Assistance with any needs regarding injuries or losses they sustained. The Victim Assistance Unit has partnered with about 30 organizations throughout the City that offer everything from trauma counseling to shelter.

Weishar said an ultimate goal of the unit is to have an enhanced response to every violent crime victim in Kansas City, which would be about 10,000 to 11,000 people per year. Victim Advocate Jennifer Miller continues her work with the families of homicide victims, and the Victim Assistance Unit is starting their work with aggravated assault victims. They will expand to other violent crime victims soon.

Weishar said the victim assistance specialists are not charged with convincing victims to prosecute their cases.

“Empathy and compassion are a good deal of what we do,” he said. “Having said that, we realize some of them are suspects themselves. We hope that by showing that kind of attention to them, we can subtly persuade them to cooperate where they may not have before.”

Victim Assistance Specialist Officer Kevin White said he has gone to hospitals to reach out to injured victims and their families. He follows up with them to see how they’re recovering. Several of the people he’s contacted have been surprised to hear from him.

“People on the phone are just shocked to hear the police department call them to see how they’re doing,” Officer White said. “They didn’t expect those phone calls.”

Victims already have taken advantage of services like trauma and spiritual counseling, bilingual assistance and housing help.

“We don’t just give them a phone number to call,” Weishar said. “We actually contact those community resources ourselves and find one that agrees to assist them. Then we hand (the victims) off to them.”

With the help of the department’s Information Technology staff, the victim assistance specialists can see what detectives have done on the cases, and detectives can see what contact the specialists have had with victims. But the specialists are careful not to get into the investigative arena. Weishar said this is a different layer, and the specialists want to develop trust with the victims.

Weishar said he eventually hopes to have trained volunteers and college interns as part of the unit, enabling them to assist as many violent crime victims as possible.

Come tell us what you think Saturday

I invite all community members to come share their concerns, thoughts and ideas with me and police department leaders tomorrow morning.

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department is hosting an open forum from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 5 at the Mohart Multipurpose Center, 3200 Wayne Ave. Police commanders and community interaction officers will be in attendance, as will a representative from the Office of Community Complaints and the leaders of several city departments. These department and city leaders will sit in the audience while you share your thoughts.

We will not be there to talk at you. We will be there to listen to you.

For the first hour and 45 minutes, police and city representatives will sit in the audience listening to what you have to say. At 10:45 a.m., police commanders will meet one-on-one with you. If you have a specific public safety problem you’d like to see addressed, we will ask you to sign a community contract. This contract will outline the mutually agreed upon action steps to be taken by you and police to address the issue and will ensure both parties follow up on these actions. The follow-up is key.

I really hope you can make it out tomorrow morning. The police are here to serve you, and we need your input to be successful.

New phase of Law Enforcement Resource Center is implemented

This week marks a big shift in how the Kansas City Missouri Police Department analyzes, responds to and prevents crime. October 3 will be the implementation of Phase II of our Law Enforcement Resource Center. (To get a background on the Law Enforcement Resource Center [LERC], check out this article in our Informant newsletter.)

For years we have been reacting to crime. The LERC takes us from reacting to interrupting crime. That is where we are now, primarily in relation to property crimes. The next goal is to forecast crime.

Phase I of the LERC  was completed in March of this year. That introduced the Real Time Crime Center and Crime Analysis Center. As soon as staffing becomes available, the Real Time Crime Center will become a 24/7/365 operation. Right now, it is staffed from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. The jobs of the detectives in this center are to keep an eye on calls officers on the street are responding to and provide as much information as they can about the people and locations officers are encountering. They also will take intelligence that patrol officers gather from their relationships with community members and see how it relates to unsolved crimes or crimes being planned. Because of the Real Time Crime Center, officers and detectives don’t have to spend nearly the time at their car computers or desks looking up information. The Center will do that for them. The goal to get that information back to officers and detectives is less than two minutes. The officers and detectives, then, can be out working the streets, which is where they have the most impact.

The Crime Analysis Center brought together the analysts from our six patrol divisions into one central location for the first time in memory. We have given them training and technology to track property crime patterns across the metropolitan area. This has led to major breakthroughs that would not have been possible before. We are catching the bad guys and stopping them from committing more crimes. This does not just affect property crimes. Many criminals are involved in both property and violent crimes.

Now Phase II is coming. This will bring an administrative unit and the Perpetrator Information Center together. As LERC commander Major Mike Corwin likes to say, the crime analysts are the “what.” The Perpetrator Information Center is the “who” and “why.” They gather intelligence on violent criminals to link them to the crimes they’ve committed and each other. Their input into our crime analysis software development is invaluable.

Having all of these resources under one roof is unprecedented, here and across the nation. We are leading the country in developing proprietary intelligence software that harvests data from multiple law enforcement sources, analyzes it and gets it back out to those who need it at a rapid rate. We are breaking down the silos of information that used to exist, and Kansas City will be safer for it.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Commanders get called out

When an emergency happens in Kansas City, I want everyone on this department from the top down to be able to respond. That’s why we conducted a commander call-out earlier this week, the second since I took the office of Chief of Police.

The goal was to have all commanders (deputy chiefs, majors and captains) respond to and work through a critical incident exercise. I want all commanders to be more involved in large emergency events, and I want them to exercise their critical thinking in a situation they don’t face on a regular basis. It’s one of the reasons I require all commanders to do regular ride-alongs with patrol officers. I want them to stay in touch with street-level policing.

They did not know this week’s call-out was coming. The only people who knew were the five department members who created and administrated the exercise and me.

At 1:15 p.m. Monday, I ordered the Communications Unit (this was a test for them, as well) to notify all commanders to report to the Police Academy immediately, no matter where they were or what they were doing. Once there, they were randomly divided into groups and presented with the critical incident scenario: A man wearing an explosive vest walks into Police Headquarters during the Republican National Convention (which Kansas City is hoping to host in 2016) and demands the convention be stopped. We let them take the scenario from there. There weren’t necessarily any right answers. I wanted to ensure a few very basic points were covered – such as activating the Emergency Operations Center and calling an Operation 100 at Headquarters.

Everyone did an excellent job. I was impressed with their teamwork. No one pulled rank, and everyone listened to each other’s ideas. That cooperation is necessary because a critical incident of this scale would certainly be handled by a group of commanders, not just one. Working through this kind of scenario allowed them to activate and utilize all the resources the department has available, such as manpower, specialty units, federal partners, neighboring law enforcement agencies and other city departments like Emergency Management and Fire.

I want us to be responsive in a critical incident, not reactive. In the police world, those are two different things. Responding to an emergency means coming in with a rehearsed plan of action. It means police know what needs to be done and who needs to do it, and they put their plan into action as soon as possible. Reacting to an emergency means police are unprepared and chaos reigns. A critical incident is not the time to work out details. Exercises like this week’s ensure we are responsive.

Right after I became chief, we conducted a much less-involved exercise in which I ordered the Communications Unit to contact all commanders and tell them to come to a location to see how quickly they responded and how they used their take-home vehicles. That covered response, but I wanted this to engage their critical thinking skills.

This will not be the last time such a surprise exercise is conducted. Why? Because someday it might not be an exercise. It might be the real thing. If it is, I want a department of men and women who are prepared, regardless of their assignment. Future exercises will include regional, state and federal partners.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org. 

Workplace bullying needs to be addressed

Heavy on my heart this morning is the subject of bullying – not cyber bullying, bullying at school or even sibling bullying – but workplace bullying. Bullying is not solely germane to those more commonly discussed areas. It frequently occurs in the workplace. 

I began writing this blog at 2:39 this morning. For some unknown reason, the topic was weighing on me with a sense of restlessness that I haven't felt in months. As I tried to discount the heaviness on my heart and to rationalize the restlessness as excitement for being on a few days of vacation, I realized I had to share the realities and perception of workplace bullying, especially in a law enforcement environment.

To the best of my knowledge, this topic has not been broached by any police department, and certainly not by the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.  Realizing that it might not resonate well for some, I'll risk stirring the pot because this is a serious issue. But it would be a risk well worth the effort if it positively impacts the manner in which people are treated. Some might ask, "Why shine the light on the problem?" Because we must speak for those who can't speak for themselves!

Let me be clear, the issue within the KCPD is not systemic or wide-spread. Many of the bullies are no longer associated with the police department. The Kansas City Police Department is composed of courteous, dedicated and servant-minded individuals who have proven their commitment to our city.

At least on a weekly basis, I stress to my executive-level command staff the importance of ensuring all members of the department be respectful, courteous and fair, and that they immediately intervene if anyone is behaving unprofessionally. They've been asked to share my request and concerns with those they lead. They've been told if they see something, say something, and that no one should suffer in silence. Recently, executive level staff was provided a copy of "The Bully at Work," by Gary Namie, PhD, & Ruth Namie, PhD. This is one of many steps we'll take toward better identifying, addressing and eventually alleviating such an emotionally damaging practice.

In May of this year, the department's lead attorney from the Office of General Counsel began gathering information regarding internal suits, claims and EEOC charges of discrimination. The information will be reviewed to determine if policy and/or patterns of practices need to be revised.

As I reflect on my 28-year career with this great organization, I can't help but reflect on the many real incidents of bullying. Oftentimes, the bullies were in higher ranks or positions than those who were being bullied. I've witnessed and have been the victim of bullying at KCPD.  I reported the bullying, and in most cases it was discounted as: "He does that to everyone," "You need thicker skin," or "Don't make any noise about that." As I progressed through the ranks of the department, I found better ways to confront bullies.

Throughout the years, many others have communicated their experiences, often hearing identical trite expressions from those who had the authority to intervene but didn’t. There have been incidents in which individuals were cursed out and even threatened, but no actions were taken against the bully. Transfers requests have been lost and denied without explanation. I've witnessed above-average yearly evaluations change to an employee who suddenly can't do anything right in the eyes of his immediate supervisor/commander. Most alarming, oftentimes no one intervened on behalf of the one being bullied. In some cases the bullies garnered the support of others, resulting in group bullying. The result in several cases was civil action being filed with monetary compensation being awarded to the bullied employee.

Although bullying can occur anywhere at any time, it's imperative to address bullying at its onset in a work environment. We must set the tone of non-tolerance, and most importantly, prevent the long-term emotional toll on those who are being bullied.

I encourage anyone who's being bullied to report the bullying to any supervisor or commander so the allegations can be properly investigated.

While not as prevalent as in my early years on the department, bullying still rears its destructive head far too often. I'll continue to promote employees who don't subscribe to the philosophy of going along to get along, but those who are willing to intervene to cease destructive practices, regardless of the personal consequences. I decided to express my feelings about this topic so others, within the department as well as those outside the department, might not stand by silently while others are tormented by unbridled bullies. I and many others have intervened to stop bullying over the years, and rest assured we'll continue to do so. My desire is that we create, nurture and maintain a bully-free environment and a culture that's comfortable sharing about any form of mistreatment.

I respectfully share this topic because it's important that all employees, as well as other segments of the community, understand what's being done to alleviate bullying within the KCPD. 

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.