Statistics are in from our Communications Center for 2010, and they’re pretty impressive. We handled a total of 892,283 calls, of which 576,257 were 911 calls (the rest were non-emergency calls and transfers to other department elements or other outside agencies). That total is a slight increase over last year, in which we handled 881,214 calls.
The numbers that really reflect the times are how many wireless 911 calls we receive compared to landline 911 calls. We started tracking this in 2008. That year, 60 percent of all our 911 calls came from wireless phones. That increased to 65.6 percent in 2009, and in 2010 the number was 70.5 percent.
In just two years, the percentage of 911 callers using cell phones has climbed by 10 percentage points. That’s a pretty remarkable change in a short amount of time, and it requires more of 911 callers. With landlines, dispatchers can trace where calls are coming from. Cell phones can’t pinpoint locations with the same precision. That’s why the Mid-America Regional Council makes these suggestions about calling 911 from a cell phone:
“It is very important that you provide as much information as possible to the dispatcher. This includes:
• Your wireless phone number
• Your exact location
• The name of the road you are traveling on, direction you are headed and any physical landmarks
• How many miles you are from the nearest town or the nearest cross street.
Technology in use in the Kansas City region allows dispatchers to receive the phone number and approximate location from where the wireless 9-1-1 call originated. But it is still important to know your exact location in the event of an emergency. Make it a habit to note mile markers and other road signs that would help you identify where you are should you need to call 9-1-1.”
More information about calling 911 is available on MARC’s web site.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Best of luck to our Polar Plungers
One special KCPD member is taking the craziness one step further: Detective Donie Spaeth is our department's first ever Super Polar Plunger. She's jumping into Longview Lake 24 times in 24 hours prior to the big Polar Plunge tomorrow. Above is a photo of her coming out of her third dip today. She raised more than $3,000 to do this.
And before you think she's getting off easy because the weather got nice today, keep in mind that Polar Plunge organizers first had to cut through 8 inches of ice this morning to create a space for the plungers to get in. The water underneath remains close to freezing temperatures.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The eternal question of cops and donuts
Today, our "Why We Do What We Do" video series explores a very important topic: What's the deal with cops and donuts?
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Three recent homicides solved
Charges have been filed in two killings from this past weekend, and one from the previous week.
Last week, we reported the slaying of Earthy Huff Jr., found shot near 36th and Garfield. Jerrim L. Johnson, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in that case. The Kansas City Star has more about that case on their web site.
At about 1 a.m. Jan. 22, police found 43-year-old Ephrem Merrit-Esquivel dead in an alley in the 6200 block of E. 11th St. Oscar Cerna, 46, has now been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in that case. Here's the Star story on those charges.
Three hours later on Jan. 22, at about 4 a.m., 29-year-old Andre Steele was dropped off by someone at Research Medical Center with gunshot wounds, from which he died a short time later. Latasha Hutchinson, 27, has now been charged with involuntary manslaughter in this case, which you can read more about here.
Last week, we reported the slaying of Earthy Huff Jr., found shot near 36th and Garfield. Jerrim L. Johnson, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in that case. The Kansas City Star has more about that case on their web site.
At about 1 a.m. Jan. 22, police found 43-year-old Ephrem Merrit-Esquivel dead in an alley in the 6200 block of E. 11th St. Oscar Cerna, 46, has now been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in that case. Here's the Star story on those charges.
Three hours later on Jan. 22, at about 4 a.m., 29-year-old Andre Steele was dropped off by someone at Research Medical Center with gunshot wounds, from which he died a short time later. Latasha Hutchinson, 27, has now been charged with involuntary manslaughter in this case, which you can read more about here.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Law enforcement continues to be a dangerous profession
CNN noted today that 10 police officers have been shot in the United States in a 24-hour period, and today is the funeral for two others from the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also noted an "alarming increase" in line-of-duty deaths for police in 2010. They said, "The number of U.S. law enforcement fatalities spiked by 37 percent in 2010 - an alarming increase that follows two years of declining deaths among our nation's policing professionals." A total of 160 officers died in the line of duty last year. There was a 20 percent increase in officers killed by gunfire, and a 43 percent increase in officers killed in traffic accidents.
All of these statistics point to the simple fact that despite advances in safety technology, law enforcement continues to be a dangerous job. We stress this to our recruits and let them know this is a career in which their life could be on the line. Just after midnight today, as a matter of fact, one of our officers almost was run down by a car. He stopped a man for speeding at 9 Highway and 169 Highway. The man pulled over, and as soon as the officer approached the window, the driver turned his car at the officer and accelerated. The officer, fortunately, was able to jump out of the way in time, and the man was later caught by officers in Kansas City, Kan. Charges are pending against him for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and a slew of other offenses.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to our brothers and sisters in blue and their loved ones who are suffering today. I ask that you keep the safety of officers here and elsewhere in your thoughts and prayers, as well.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also noted an "alarming increase" in line-of-duty deaths for police in 2010. They said, "The number of U.S. law enforcement fatalities spiked by 37 percent in 2010 - an alarming increase that follows two years of declining deaths among our nation's policing professionals." A total of 160 officers died in the line of duty last year. There was a 20 percent increase in officers killed by gunfire, and a 43 percent increase in officers killed in traffic accidents.
All of these statistics point to the simple fact that despite advances in safety technology, law enforcement continues to be a dangerous job. We stress this to our recruits and let them know this is a career in which their life could be on the line. Just after midnight today, as a matter of fact, one of our officers almost was run down by a car. He stopped a man for speeding at 9 Highway and 169 Highway. The man pulled over, and as soon as the officer approached the window, the driver turned his car at the officer and accelerated. The officer, fortunately, was able to jump out of the way in time, and the man was later caught by officers in Kansas City, Kan. Charges are pending against him for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and a slew of other offenses.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to our brothers and sisters in blue and their loved ones who are suffering today. I ask that you keep the safety of officers here and elsewhere in your thoughts and prayers, as well.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Rethinking officer deployment
The below article in our monthly Informant newsletter outlines the possibility of a new way to deploy officers across Kansas City:
KCPD is testing a new program that would fundamentally change the way the department addresses crime and how officers are deployed.
The Strategic Deployment program is focused on improving the way division commanders make decisions and allocate their resources. It uses the latest technology for analyzing data, as well as an improved system of communication to help proactively address crime and target problem areas.
“This will make us more efficient and more effective,” Chief James Corwin said. “We’re going to be taking a lot of our resources and directing our focus at the players who are causing the problems.”
This past year, the CSTAR Unit began creating a framework for the program with tools, technology, and training for the patrol divisions to use. The program is fluid, so each patrol divisions can use the tools in ways that best meets their needs.
Major Bryon Price of the Professional Standards Division said one of the biggest changes the program will bring is how officers are deployed. Instead of restricting officers to an assigned geographic patrol sector, it allows commanders to look at their overall division area and shift officers to where they are needed most. It also encourages commanders to share resources among divisions.
“It’s really a paradigm shift for the department,” Major Price said. “It’s intelligence-led, not just based on crime statistics and personal knowledge.”
South Patrol was chosen as the pilot program and began using some of the new techniques in October 2010.
Each week, a committee of South Patrol supervisors from each watch and patrol meet to review crime stats and maps from the week before. They discuss strategies that are working and brainstorm ideas to address recurring problems or any major crimes.
“Strategic Deployment looks at the whole problem and looks at what resources we need to address the problem,” Major Robin Houston said. “Who can we contact, what relationships can be made, and what internally can we do to get better results.”
Major Houston said the program has helped improve communication among her officers, as well as focus the department on addressing issues more effectively. So far, she’s received positive feedback from the officers who appreciate the outlet for new ideas, as well as timely and pertinent information.
Already they’re seeing results. In previous years, South Patrol had seen an increase in business robberies during the holidays. Using that information, they proactively saturated the more common robbery areas with patrols, and they’ve already seen a drop in business robberies. From Nov. 20 to Dec. 28, 2010, robberies dropped 48 percent from the same period in 2009.
Major Price said Metro Patrol has begun testing the program, and he expects other patrol divisions to begin using the techniques as well.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
KCPD is testing a new program that would fundamentally change the way the department addresses crime and how officers are deployed.
The Strategic Deployment program is focused on improving the way division commanders make decisions and allocate their resources. It uses the latest technology for analyzing data, as well as an improved system of communication to help proactively address crime and target problem areas.
“This will make us more efficient and more effective,” Chief James Corwin said. “We’re going to be taking a lot of our resources and directing our focus at the players who are causing the problems.”
This past year, the CSTAR Unit began creating a framework for the program with tools, technology, and training for the patrol divisions to use. The program is fluid, so each patrol divisions can use the tools in ways that best meets their needs.
Major Bryon Price of the Professional Standards Division said one of the biggest changes the program will bring is how officers are deployed. Instead of restricting officers to an assigned geographic patrol sector, it allows commanders to look at their overall division area and shift officers to where they are needed most. It also encourages commanders to share resources among divisions.
“It’s really a paradigm shift for the department,” Major Price said. “It’s intelligence-led, not just based on crime statistics and personal knowledge.”
South Patrol was chosen as the pilot program and began using some of the new techniques in October 2010.
Each week, a committee of South Patrol supervisors from each watch and patrol meet to review crime stats and maps from the week before. They discuss strategies that are working and brainstorm ideas to address recurring problems or any major crimes.
“Strategic Deployment looks at the whole problem and looks at what resources we need to address the problem,” Major Robin Houston said. “Who can we contact, what relationships can be made, and what internally can we do to get better results.”
Major Houston said the program has helped improve communication among her officers, as well as focus the department on addressing issues more effectively. So far, she’s received positive feedback from the officers who appreciate the outlet for new ideas, as well as timely and pertinent information.
Already they’re seeing results. In previous years, South Patrol had seen an increase in business robberies during the holidays. Using that information, they proactively saturated the more common robbery areas with patrols, and they’ve already seen a drop in business robberies. From Nov. 20 to Dec. 28, 2010, robberies dropped 48 percent from the same period in 2009.
Major Price said Metro Patrol has begun testing the program, and he expects other patrol divisions to begin using the techniques as well.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Police honor Target, CVS employees and detectives for busting big theft ring
Pictured from left are Brooke Robinson of Target and Keri Christeson and Greg Leiker of CVS
In the past year, we've busted some major retail theft rings. These busts don't happen without the cooperation of the retailers involved, and today we honored some people from CVS and Target who went out of their way to help us stop a mother-and-son team of thieves. Here's what they and the detectives did:
On May 3, 2010, Detectives Chad Herriman and Tod Reaves learned from an informant that she was stealing thousands of dollars in health and beauty care products and supplying it to a man and his mother, who were then reselling the items at swap-and-shops and flea markets. The source said the man and his mother made lists of what they wanted her and other boosters to steal – everything from nail polish to detergent. The group would steal the requested items and sell them to the mother and son for pennies on the dollar.
Detectives Herriman and Reaves went under-cover and arranged five controlled sales with the mother-son thieves using purportedly stolen merchandise that was in fact donated by CVS and Target. Detectives Herriman and Reaves posed as boosters, and in their under-cover role, sold more than $6,800 worth of merchandise to the mother and son. They were paid $990 for these items. Detectives recorded each controlled sale and used Tactical Response Teams as take-down crews.
Once enough evidence was gathered, police got search warrants for the suspect’s homes and businesses. They found more than 24,300 items of stolen merchandise worth more than $177,000. The son claimed he had paid out more than $720,000 in the last year to boosters, and he said he paid them about 20% of the value of the items.
Sergeant Michael Foster said Detectives Herriman and Reaves identified and stopped a fencing operation that was costing the local economy a great deal. He said they were directly responsible for gathering information, maintaining confidential sources and coordinating with CVS and Target for controlled buys. Likewise, Sergeant Foster said solving the whole case would not have happened without the cooperation of Greg Leiker and Keri Christeson of CVS and Brooke Robinson and Mike Gudgell of Target.
He said, “Without their participation or donations, this case would not have been possible.”
Nor would the case have been solved without the long hours the Central Patrol Property Crimes Section and TRT 1 spent conducting surveillance, maintaining logs, documenting controlled sales, executing search warrants and recovering and documenting more than 24,000 pieces of property.
The mother, 64-year-old Alice Reed, is awaiting trial on a felony count of theft greater than $25,000 and two felony counts of receiving stolen property. Her son, 45-year-old George Reed, is awaiting trial on the same counts plus an additional count of receiving stolen property.
Channel 41 did a nice piece on this particular theft ring when we served the search warrants in July, and you can watch their video here.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Man shot at 36th and Garfield dies of injuries
At about 1 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, officers were dispatched to the 3600 block of Garfield on the sound of shots fired. When police got there, they found a man lying in the driveway of 3523 Garfield suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. He died about 15 hours later and has been identified as 55-year-old Earthy L. Huff Jr. of Kansas City, MO.
Huff's family said they don't know why he would have been in the area of 35th and Garfield. Police are seeking information from anyone who may have had contact with Earthy Huff on Jan. 17 or who may have witnessed the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477) or the Homicide Unit at 816-234-5043.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Behind the scenes of a ticket
If you've ever been pulled over and wondered what the officer is doing when he or she takes your driver's license while you sit and wait, this video explains that. It's the latest in our Why We Do What We Do video series:
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Witnesses wanted in third homicide of 2011
At about 1 a.m. Jan. 17, police were near 16th and Holmes handling a traffic problem from a private party in the area when they heard the sound of shots one block to the west. When they got to the scene, they found 19-year-old Orlando Smith of Kansas City, Mo., dead in the parking lot.
Initial investigation indicates the shooting resulted from a disturbance at the private party. The suspect is described as a black male with braids who left the scene in a dark, newer-model Jeep Liberty or Jeep Patriot. Police believe several people witnessed the shooting but left before talking to police. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
Initial investigation indicates the shooting resulted from a disturbance at the private party. The suspect is described as a black male with braids who left the scene in a dark, newer-model Jeep Liberty or Jeep Patriot. Police believe several people witnessed the shooting but left before talking to police. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
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