State and federal prosecutors announce new fight against violent crime in Kansas City
State and federal law enforcement officials on Thursday announced a new collaborative effort to combat violent crime in Kansas City.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Tim Garrison, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said their offices will work together to expand Schmitt’s Safer Streets Initiative.
A similar collaborative effort in St. Louis was announced last month. And later Thursday afternoon, it was announced that Safer Streets will also be implemented in Springfield.
“Violent crime is something that can’t be fixed at the drop of a hat, but with an unprecedented level of cooperation between state and federal prosecutors, I believe we together can continue to make great progress in making this region safer and more secure,” Schmitt said.
The plan calls for three to five experienced lawyers from the attorney general’s office to be designated as special assistant United States attorneys to prosecute cases in federal court.
“The increased prosecutorial support will help to more fully prosecute violent crime and build on the successes of law enforcement in Kansas City,” officials said in a news release announcing the effort.
There is also an community outreach component to the initiative.
Schmitt said he and others from his office will be reaching out to the individuals and communities most affected by violent crime to “hear their concerns and answer their questions about violent crime.”
“With the Safer Streets Initiative, we can stand together against those who would bring violence to our streets, and can replace the violence with safer, vibrant neighborhoods” Schmitt said in the written statement.
Thursday’s announcement cited “burgeoning violent crime rates in Kansas City,” and noted that statistics maintained by the Missouri Highway Patrol showed “over 160 violent crime incidents” in Jackson County in 2017.
However, that 160 figure appears to refer to homicides only. There were 168 homicides reported in Jackson County in 2017, and 165 in 2018, according to the statistics maintained by the highway patrol.
The vast majority of those homicides occurred in Kansas City, which saw a decrease in homicides from 151 in 2017 to 136 last year. Still, the city has ranked among the worst in the U.S. for homicide rates.
The number of overall reported violent crimes for Jackson County also decreased between 2017 and 2018. Homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault are counted as violent crimes in the statistics.
In 2017 there were 9,766 such crimes reported in Jackson County, while last year there were 9,011, according to the highway patrol statistics.
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 1:26 PM.
