Jackson County promised a crackdown on domestic violence in 2025. Is it working?
At the beginning of her term in January, newly elected Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson reached out to law enforcement agencies and municipal prosecutors across the county to outline two areas of emphasis: drug distribution and domestic violence.
In the focus on domestic violence crimes, she urged them to send her office all serious cases that included circumstances and characteristics like weapons, broken bones, stitches and staples, strangulation and repeat offenders for the potential of more serious charges.
“In 2023, at least 22 homicides involved domestic violence,” she wrote in a letter. “Our current system has the Municipal Court handling dozens of serious domestic violence cases, allowing offenders to repeat offenses without proper consequences.”
During a news conference Tuesday morning at the Jackson County Courthouse, Johnson pointed to what she said were early signs of progress in the new emphasis her office has placed on domestic violence cases.
While unveiling a new public-facing data dashboard that shows how her office is processing domestic violence cases, Johnson said prosecutors have filed charges in roughly 70% of domestic assault cases they have reviewed in 2025, up from about 54% in 2024, before she took office.
A 70% charging rate is “well above” the national average, she said.
“I want (victims) to know that if they do take the huge first step of contacting law enforcement and seeking a better future for themselves, their kids and their families, that they have a prosecutor’s office that is ready and willing to have their back,” she said.
“We want our community to know that we will hold your hand and walk with you through this very, very difficult time,” she said.
So far in 2025, the dashboard shows her office has both received more domestic assault cases from law enforcement (34 more total cases or about 15% more compared to this point last year) and has filed more cases (42 more, up about 32% compared to last year).
Most domestic assault cases in Jackson County resolve in a guilty plea (about 82% so far in 2025, which is in line with data from recent years).
The charging trend matches the overall trend in criminal cases the office has filed under Johnson. So far this year, her office has received more cases from law enforcement (622 more, about 18% more) and has filed more (308 more cases, about a 14% increase) compared to this point last year.
The prosecutor’s office breaks out data showing “intimate partner violence,” which includes offenses like homicides, property crimes, harassment and stalking. The office has filed charges in about 75% of those cases it has received so far in 2025, up from about 64% last year. In terms of raw numbers, though, Johnson’s office has received fewer of those specific types of domestic violence cases (31 fewer, down about 22%) and has filed fewer cases (13 fewer, down about 15%), compared to this point last year.
New emphasis on domestic violence in Jackson County
Traci Stansell, a chief trial attorney who oversees the office’s special victims unit for eastern Jackson County, said it was “encouraging and refreshing” to see the office put a focus on domestic violence. Behind every number, she said, is a survivor who found the courage to come forward.
“The increased filing that we’re doing now really helps to show victims that they can be survivors, and they can seek justice,” she said.
Johnson said previously, 90% of domestic violence cases were handled at the municipal court level, “which often lacks the resources needed to ensure appropriate accountability for serious cases.”
“Right now, survivors are receiving justice, abusers are facing real consequences, longer sentences, prevented from continuing the cycle of violence,” she said. “This data is potentially saving lives.”
Johnson pointed to a homicide case her office prosecuted earlier this year in which a man fatally shot his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend in front of their children. Before the shooting, the ex-boyfriend had a swath of domestic violence cases at the municipal level, some of which could have been handled at the county level, where prosecutors can seek more serious consequences, she said.
“This is exactly what this entire team is working to prevent,” she said. “We cannot wait until it’s too late. We must intervene early and often and prosecute aggressively.”
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and on Wednesday afternoon a group of elected and community leaders from around Kansas City and Jackson County are joining in a roundtable to “identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities in the region’s response to domestic violence.”
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance escaping domestic violence, reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or to first responders by calling 911.
