KC's murder factory isn't a video game
Yael T. AbouhalkahKansas City’s murder rate is not the end-all, be-all measurement for whether the city is safe or not.
And the recent spate of killings in Kansas City shouldn’t be covered by the media - and talked about by the public - as if it’s a video game.
That is, the more people who die, the worse violent crime is in Kansas City.
It’s simply not true. While homicides get the great majority of public attention, another indicator really tells whether tens of thousands of Kansas Citians are safer or not.
That’s the violent crime rate, the one that measures not just homicides but also aggravated assaults, rapes and robberies.
And for two decades, the general rate of violent crime has been falling in Kansas City - by almost half since 1991.
I’d quickly point out that Kansas City’s violent crime rate along with its murder rate are still too high when compared with other large cities.
And it’s been a great mystery for years why too many people in Kansas City - especially black people in the urban core - are more prone than residents of many other large cities to settle disputes with guns and by killing others.
Still, while six people were reported killed just over the weekend and that’s just appalling, the news followed a period of almost three weeks in which only three people were murdered.
In other words, homicides often happen in streaks.
In Kansas City, even with the weekend rash of murders, the rate of homicides still is nowhere near reaching its all-time high.
New Police Chief Darryl Forte has the right approach: He says the city’s success in curbing not just murders but other violent crimes won’t be measured in weeks or even months. It’s a longtime battle to do that. Forte has just begun his approach, which calls for saturating high-crime areas with officers.
In the future we’ll get statistics to show whether this new policing method is helping to reduce violent crimes in Kansas City. If it is, that would be encouraging news for thousands of Kansas Citians who want to live in a safer city.
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DEar Mr. Abouhalkah: Thank you for bringing the crime situation to the city’s attention. Yes, crime has declined in KCMO since the early 1990’s—but it has declined a lot less than in virtually every other city in the US. Our high point for homicides was 1993 with 153 homicides—right now we are 96 homicides for 2011. Los Angeles County had 1500 homicides in 1992—last year they had 500. NYC had 2250 homicides in 1992—last year they had 476. In 1992 Washington, DC had 476 homicides—right now they are at 97 homicides. The key question for KCMO: Why has our rate of violent crime fallen far less since the early 1990’s than in virtually every other city in the nation? Take care. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans