Despite recent efforts to address Kansas City’s gun violence problem, nonfatal shootings have increased by 39 % so far this year.
That rise is in piece attributed to , the large shooting , at the Chiefs Super Bowl protest where two hundred people were shot and one witness was killed on Valentine’s Day.
But even March saw a drastic increase — 42 % — with 51 nonfatal shootings, according to Kansas City Police Department data presented at this week ‘s , Board of Police Commissioners , meeting. That’s compared to 36 recorded in both 2022 and 2023.
As of April 23, there have been 190 nonfatal murders compared to 137 in 2023. Next month, the area suffered a document- breaking 185 homicides. That , price is down this time, with 44 deaths compared to 51 at the same time next year.
Sgt. Sgt. Phil DiMartino, a spokeswoman for the police department.
Of particular problem, he said, are the number of children who have become victims of firearm violence. In Kansas City, 41 students were shot, and 41 of them survived. Four of them had children under the age of 13.
Seven children , ranging in age from eight months to 17 have died in , homicides this year, according to data tracked by The Star. At least one child has died in an , sudden shooting.
Mayor Quinton Lucas stated that the area is addressing gun violence from all angles, including by financing programs for crime prevention and social services for those affected by or in danger of crime.
” We all want our children and future generations of Kansas City to sprout up in healthy and vibrant districts”, Lucas said in a speech. ” I have wish and I’m going to make it happen,” he said.
Addressing gun crime
The police office says it has deployed three main strategies: data- informed community wedding, data- driven deployment and focused deterrence. The first two aim to provide aid to the regions most affected by assault. High-risk offenders are targeted by foil-based punishment, which includes both swift punishment for offenses and social services.
The concept of” Teamwork to Evaluate and Analyze Management Strategies” has also been put into practice by police. According to DiMartino, TEAMS uses data to help identify the root causes of division performance problems and facilitate management debate.
He also said it was important to note that violent violence goes beyond the agency’s work. Many efforts have launched in recent years including , Partners for Peace , and Houston 360, a crime prevention approach modeled off Omaha 360, which saw a 74 % drop in murders.
” These figures occurred over the course of 15 times”, DiMartino noted. Not because we should wait 15 years, but because we wo n’t break out of this vicious cycle, I emphasize that.
The City of Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves unveiled a nationwide program last May that was billed as an extreme cooperation between police and a number of other teams.
In addition to long-standing businesses like the  and AdHoc Group Against Crime, newer programs are available.
The causes of Kansas City’s gun crime problem, according to AdHoc’s leader Damon Daniel, can be traced back to intergenerational trauma, financial divestment, and administrative racism. Getting at these structural issues is significant, he said, but taking time and expense. One possible way is a , restitution system, which is presently being studied.
Additional parts include conflict resolution, specifically for children, and gun regulations, though that has  , faced resistance , at the state level.
More immediately, Daniel said, police need to arrest more suspects in nonfatal shootings and prosecutors need to file harsher charges.
” There has n’t been much consequence”, he said, when it comes perpetrators of nonfatal shootings.
Daniel also said that he wants to ensure the ,$ 30 million allocated , in 2023 by the City Council, to be spent over five years, goes to the most effective crime prevention strategies.
A$ 318 million police department budget for the upcoming fiscal year was approved at this week’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
___
© 2024 The Kansas City Star
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
