Forum for homicide victims offers services, builds trust

Last night, we brought together more than 200 family members and loved ones of this year’s 89 homicide victims in a first-ever forum. We sent all of them personal invitations, and the AdHoc Group Against Crime also contacted family members of homicide victims from previous years.

The goal was to reach out to those surviving family members and let them know they’re not alone in their struggle. We also wanted to provide them with information about all the victim advocacy services available, both public and private. Additionally, all the homicide detectives who were not on call came to the forum.

A video memorial dedicated to this year’s homicide victims began the evening. Attendees also heard from Misty Kurwin, whose son Christopher Bartholomew was murdered in 2007, about her grief and how she handled it. Mayor Sly James and I also spoke, as did representatives of multiple victim advocacy services, including our own Community Support Division, Parents of Murdered Children, the Mattie Rhodes Center and Concord Hope House.

Afterward, the audience broke up to meet one-on-one with the victim advocates and detectives. Detectives provided updates to their loved ones’ cases. The detectives also asked them if they had heard anything more that could help the investigations and lead to justice for the families. Detectives made lots of contacts, and have many follow-up phone calls and visits to make in the coming days.

Homicides are not something our department takes lightly, and we will do everything in our power to prevent and solve them. Reaching out to those most impacted by these tragedies was a very necessary step for us. I’m so glad so many responded. The turn-out was more than we could have hoped for, and it demonstrates to me that the community is eager to work with us to reduce violent crime. This will not be the last such forum, and it’s just one of many steps we’re taking to strengthen the police-community partnership.

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Looking back on my first year as Chief of Police

I was sworn in as chief of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department nearly one year ago on Oct. 13, 2011. I would like to offer a heartfelt thanks to family, friends and co-workers for their support during my first year as chief. Without them, my journey would have been much more difficult. I also appreciate the support other segments of the community have shown to me. Understanding symbiotic relationships is a must if we are serious about mending distrust issues in the community. Therefore, my focus has been and will continue to be on developing and nurturing relationships. A day has not gone by in which someone from the community has not commented on the positive direction of the department - whether about the outstanding performance of an employee, the increased use of technology, the recognizable positive engagement of residents or comments in general about improved feelings of safety in the community. Let it be known that I have not done anything alone; I am merely a part of a tremendously dedicated workforce who understands the importance of the role we play in this community. This is a role that has not been taken lightly!

I would be remiss to limit my recognition to current members of the police department and not acknowledge the contribution of former chiefs of police, specifically retired chiefs James Corwin and Rick Easley, for establishing the foundation on which I am able to build. For their personal attention to my professional development, I am extremely grateful. I am a by-product of a team of predecessors who prepared me to carry the baton, and as I progress, I am doing the same for those who will remain a part of the department upon my retirement. (I have no retirement plans in the near future, however).

Hopefully, many of you have followed what has been going on in the community concerning activities of law enforcement in general, so I won’t detail all programs, projects or changes in philosophy. There were more than 230 Priority Actions in the original draft of mystrategic plan. So far, we have addressed more than 80 Priority Actions as we continue to work toward achieving reductions in crime and building trusting and respectful relationships both internally and externally. There is much more work to be done. However, we are headed in the right direction, especially with regard to improving relationships. Here are several links to some of our initiatives:

• Community Support Division
- Community Support Division will reach out to those affected by violent crime
- Community Support Division makes inroads in neighborhood
- Six aggravated assault victims pursue prosecution thanks to Community Support Division

• Hot Spot Policing 

• Increased Partnership with Probation and Parole 

• ShotSpotter

I am committed to continuing to serve our City to the best of my ability. It is truly an honor serving such an engaged community and I am excited about what the future holds for our great city. Your support is appreciated!

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Best wishes to Deputy Chief Kevin Masters

After 27 years of service to the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, Deputy Chief Kevin Masters is retiring today. I thank him for all he has done for this police department and the community. Below is a story from our latest Informant newsletter describing what he has accomplished and what he has meant to this department and Kansas City:

One of the department's youngest-ever commanders to be named deputy chief will retire from KCPD on Oct. 8 with 27 years of service.

When Deputy Chief Kevin Masters joined the police department in 1985, he had a degree in communications and journalism and dreamed of working in the Media Relations Unit.

"When I got in the field at Metro Patrol, it was a whole different story," he said. "At that point, media became a passing fancy."

He started as a dispatcher to get his foot in the door to Media, but the excitement of what he heard on the radio – as well as a couple persuasive recruiters— got him to enter the Academy. As soon as he hit the streets, Masters said he was hooked.

"It was so much fun," he said. "We were making lots of arrests. And I really like people, and I was getting to know a lot of people. Being on the streets energized me and really fit my personality."

After five years in patrol, D.C. Masters became a homicide detective. He said that assignment gave him the biggest range of emotion he has experienced.

"There is no worse feeling than going into someone's house, looking them in the eye and telling them their loved one has been killed," he said. "... But the most rewarding feeling is when you can go back to that same person and tell them you found who did it, and you're going to get justice for them."

Knowing what he went through emotionally, Masters said he made it a priority as commander of the Investigations Bureau to improve homicide detectives' quality of life. He worked with his staff to re-organize the unit in 2011 to give detectives more time and resources to solve cases as well as more time with their families. Homicide clearance rates have improved steadily since the change. Masters said that change is one of the most personally meaningful of his career accomplishments.

After he was a detective, Masters climbed the ranks quickly. Now-Retired Chief Rick Easley promoted him to deputy chief in 2002. Masters had been on the department for 17 years at the time and was 38 years old.

"Kevin was always a hard worker and extremely dependable," Easley said. "He always gave me the impression he was working hard at trying to do the right thing."

Easley said Masters could think on his feet, made good decisions and dealt well with others. But not everyone was excited to see such a new, young face as deputy chief. Masters said he faced some backlash, but he knew he'd earned the spot.

"I worked my tail off everywhere I went," he said. "I've always put in an honest day's work for an honest day's pay."

Among some of his accomplishments were the implementation and development of the Shoal Creek Patrol Division and the Mounted Patrol Unit.

Through it all, Masters said he most liked meeting people— from Fortune 500 Company CEOs to people at the end of their ropes. That's why he's looking forward to his new job as director of government relations for the Kansas City Missouri School District.

Masters will be the main point of contact for the district for elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. But what he's most excited about will be his duties building relationships between the district's schools and the neighborhoods around them. He will be trying to connect school administrators to the business owners and residents of the communities they serve.

And although Masters never worked in Media Relations at KCPD, he said he got to use the communication skills he learned in many facets of his job.

"It has been a very rewarding experience," he said. "My life has been blessed personally and professionally."

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ShotSpotter system goes live this weekend

PRESS RELEASE:

The ShotSpotter gunshot detection system will go live in Kansas City by October 1.

Covering 3.55 square miles in the urban core, the system will provide police the opportunity to rapidly respond to gunfire while building relationships with law-abiding residents in the coverage areas.

The ShotSpotter Flex system from SST Inc. is a partnership between the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), with federal funding for the project secured by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The $720,000 grant funds five years of ShotSpotter service, equipment installation, and maintenance.

Since the press conference announcing the system on May 4, 2012, police, the KCATA and several community partners have worked together to install ShotSpotter. Within the coverage area, the system will identify the address of gunshots, the number of shots fired, the number of weapons used, and all within a few feet of the actual shots. Police are not divulging the locations of the system, but portions of the KCATA Troost Max bus line and the federally designated Green Impact Zone will be covered.

When the system detects a potential gunshot, it will alert an audio engineer at ShotSpotter, located in Newark, Calif. The engineer will listen to the sound to determine whether it was a gunshot (as opposed to a car backfiring, firework or other noise). If so, the engineer will alert KCPD dispatchers. This whole process takes about 45 to 60 seconds. Police dispatchers will have a monitor showing them a map of the location of the shots, and they will direct officers on the ground to the spot. Officers will respond with the same level of urgency as they do to any other shots-fired 911 call.

Chief of Police Darryl Forté said ShotSpotter is part of an organizational change regarding how the police department prevents and responds to violent crime. Not only will the department be able to use the shooting data collected through ShotSpotter to deploy police resources and prevent crime where it’s most needed, it also will provide an opportunity for police to engage the community.

“Officers responding to these calls will contact residents in the area and tell them we are aware of recent gunfire in their neighborhood,” Chief Forté said. “We hope that contacting these residents will foster awareness, cooperation, potential information and an opportunity for community engagement.”

ShotSpotter is used in more than 70 other cities in the United States. SST Inc.’s studies have shown that as much as 80 percent of illegal gunfire goes unreported. Police hope the new community outreach prompted by ShotSpotter will increase reporting and citizen cooperation.

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Turn in your unwanted medications Saturday

PRESS RELEASE:

Kansas City residents will be able to drop off their unwanted prescription and over-the-counter drugs all over Kansas City on Sept. 29.

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, Sept. 29. The drop-off locations will be:

• MainCor, 3215 Main St.
• CVS, 11124 Holmes
• Price Chopper, 8430 Wornall Road
• Hen House, 6238 N. Chatham Rd.
• Walgreens, 5400 Independence Ave.

There also are permanent drop-off locations in the lobbies of two Kansas City Police stations:

• 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 nearly 2,000 pounds of drugs at Take Back events.

For more information about the nationwide Take Back Day, go to www.justice.gov/dea.

Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline is vital for a safer Kansas City

September is national Crime Stoppers Month, so I think this is a great time to recognize the immense assistance the Crime Stoppers program provides in solving crime in Kansas City. This also is a special year for the Kansas City Crime Stoppers program, which will celebrate their 30th anniversary in October.

Since their inception in 1982, the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline has generated more than 10,180 felony arrests, including the clearance of 598 homicides, 1,581 robberies, and 2,890 fugitive arrests. So far this year alone, Crime Stoppers has helped solve four homicides, 25 robberies and capture 104 fugitives. They have paid out $26,750 in rewards in 2012, and more than $1.2 million since the program started 30 years ago.

Our detectives rely on the tips that come from the TIPS Hotline. The Hotline’s dedication to anonymity is crucial. Through this medium, witnesses who have information that can solve felony crimes can report it directly to law enforcement without any fear of retaliation. The cash rewards are another incentive for reluctant witnesses to come forward.

Crime Stoppers was founded in 1976 and now has 1,000 programs worldwide, including 350 in the United States. According to Crime Stoppers USA Chairman K. Scott Abrams, “Crime Stoppers brings together businesses, citizens, law enforcement and the media to combat crime. It is important for the criminal element to know members of the community are watching and reporting their activities.”

While we appreciate the work of the TIPS Hotline every day, during this national Crime Stoppers Month, it’s important to point out how much work this organization does making Kansas City safer.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Hot spot policing is not just for summertime

Just because summer is ending doesn’t mean our commitment to reducing crime in the places it’s most likely to occur will fall off. We remain dedicated to hot spot policing and building relationships in neighborhoods that have long distrusted law enforcement. Officers from all over the department will continue special assignments to hot spot areas to combat crimes and communicate with residents. Crime does not stop when summer ends. We had 17 homicides last November and will do everything we can to prevent another such occurrence.

Homicide numbers are down from the four previous years, but it’s too early to celebrate on that front. I feel the true indicator of violent crime is aggravated assault statistics. These are assaults committed with weapons. Through August of 2012, aggravated assaults are down 1.6 percent compared to this time last year. It’s a small decline, but one we will work to continue.

The vast majority of these aggravated assaults and homicides are committed with guns, so we will be increasing our efforts to get illegal weapons off the street. Officers will increase the amount of car checks they conduct. These checks will be done legally, ethically and respectfully. We will check vehicles and occupants who generate reasonable suspicion, in accordance with the law.

But the No. 1 priority for me is for police to make contact with citizens. Crime prevention efforts are not just about putting people in jail. They are about building trust and lines of communication with the community, and I see that happening more and more. There has been a certain energy of cooperation lately, with more and more residents stepping up and giving us information.

I want to thank all the department members who have made reducing crime in these areas and throughout the city a priority. I know their schedules have been altered and their lives have been disrupted to provide the extra resources. I thank them for their continued positive attitude and efforts toward keeping the residents of Kansas City safe.

They soon will be getting more assistance. Some exciting developments are underway at KCPD. I’ll be addressing them in future blogs, but I wanted to give you a taste of what’s in the works:

• A Law Enforcement Resource Center – The LERC will contain a real-time data component that will give department members in patrol and investigations the instantaneous information they need to make the best decisions possible.

• Shot Spotter- This technology that can detect gunfire and where it came from will be launching in the near future.

• KC NoVA – The Kansas City No Violence Alliance is a partnership between the police department and the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. It is expected to launch in the beginning of 2013 and will target the most violent offenders in our community.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Presentation explains how 40-year-old murder case was cracked

The leader of the investigative team that solved the 40-year-old murder of a prominent black political figure explained how police cracked the cold case in a presentation Wednesday hosted by the AdHoc Group Against Crime.

Sergeant Richard Sharp of KCPD’s Cold Case Squad will presented about how the Leon Jordan case was reopened and solved at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, in the Lucile Bluford Library, 3050 Prospect Ave.

“There have been so many questions raised about this since it occurred in 1970,” AdHoc President Alvin Brooks said. “‘Whodunit? And for what reason?’ Sergeant Sharp and his squad reinvestigated it, and they came up with the answers.”

Jordan, the founder of Freedom, Inc., and a powerful member of the Missouri Legislature, was gunned down outside the Green Duck Tavern at 26th and Prospect on July 15, 1970. Two men initially were charged in the case, but those charges were dropped, and the case went cold. At the urging of local civil rights leader Alvin Sykes, now-retired Chief James Corwin ordered the Cold Case Unit to re-open Jordan’s case. They did so in August 2010.

After untangling a web of politics and organized crime, Sergeant Sharp and his detectives identified three suspects by December 2010. Those suspects were Robert “Bob” Willis, James L. “Monk” Johnson, and James “Doc” Dearborn. All are now deceased. In early 2011, the Jackson County Prosecutor declared the preponderance of evidence in the new investigation showed those were the three responsible and closed the case.

Brooks said the Sept. 5 event is a great chance for the public to learn more and ask questions about the case just four blocks from where it happened, but it provides another opportunity, as well.

“It will be an interesting evening for those who want to know something about Kansas City’s African-American history,” he said.

Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.

Volunteering at the Police Department

Officers and I often hear from concerned citizens, “What can I do to help you?” In addition to being vigilant for criminal activity and cooperating with police, there’s something else you may not have thought about: volunteering for the police department.

Our Auxiliary Service Volunteer Program is designed to increase community involvement with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. Anyone who is 17 or older can apply. Applicants must undergo a thorough background investigation, but unlike employees, do not have to live in the city limits of Kansas City, Mo. You can read more about service requirements in our policy.

The public can volunteer in a number of areas. Volunteers assist in the Records Unit, at patrol division stations, with building maintenance, educating the public about crime prevention and more. Our Crime Lab has had great success with college students majoring in fields like chemistry and biosciences volunteering. These students have assisted the Lab in reducing case backlogs.

All of these duties done by volunteers allow police officers and non-sworn employees to devote more time to preventing and solving crime. While a volunteer is filing, a Records Unit clerk is freed to take a police report from someone who walks into Headquarters. Because a volunteer cleans the stalls at the Mounted Patrol Stables, the officers don’t have to and can get out patrolling the community faster.

Serving as a KCPD Auxiliary Volunteer has proved to be rewarding for many retirees, students and anyone who wants to “protect and serve” their community. To apply to be a volunteer, contact Mindy Davis in our Human Resources Division at mindy.davis@kcpd.org.

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Officers do fantastic job getting illegal firearms off streets

Today I recognized two officers who have really dedicated themselves to making the community they serve a safer place. I presented the Chief’s Coin to Officers Bryan Britten and Michael Holsworth of the East Patrol Division this afternoon. The Coin is given at the Chief’s discretion, and I have awarded only one other one in my ten months on the job.

On their own, Officers Britten and Holsworth initiated a gun suppression project in the East Patrol Division inside what would later be designated as a crime hot spot in our hot spot policing initiative. They already knew that neighborhood needed attention (I’m not identifying it so as not to let criminals know where we’re concentrating our efforts). In one year, the officers recovered 18 firearms within their self-designated project area as well as 27 in the rest of their sector for a total of 45 firearms recovered. This is unheard of. Our Crime Lab later linked one of the weapons they seized to two homicides. The investigation into those is still ongoing, so I can’t say more at this time, but this piece of evidence will be vital.

The officers said they did this by “knowing their bad guys.” They did a great job targeting those who were involved in criminal activity and getting them and their weapons off the streets. Most of the people in these neighborhoods are law-abiding citizens, but the few who engage in criminal activity make the whole community unsafe. Thanks to proactive officers like Bryan Britten and Michael Holsworth, community members’ sense of security can begin to return.

Watch more about these officers on KCTV Channel 5.

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