Kansas City leaders have launched what they call a new prevention-focused approach to domestic violence, including early intervention, accountability for abusers and coordinated support services for both victims and perpetrators.
The Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Focused Deterrence Program aims to focus on offenders who are in the criminal justice system for the first time as well as those who have long been a danger to their family or loved ones.
Lace Cline, assistant city manager for public safety, said the new effort builds on the current focused-deterrence model called SAVE KC, which works to reduce homicides and gun violence. Cline credited SAVE KC with a reduction in group-related homicides by 40% last year and nonfatal shootings in targeted individuals by more than 60%.
“Those results give us real confidence that a similar strategy can be affected in addressing intimate partner violence,” Cline said. “Many recent domestic violence homicides involved individuals with little to no criminal history, which means we have to be able to intervene earlier before the patterns take hold.”
The new intimate partner program combines clear communication, accountability for those who cause harm and access to services for both victims and perpetrators, she said. It’s designed after a model in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which has seen a reduction in domestic violence cases of 20%, she said.
Just a year ago, city leaders talked about an “alarming increase” in domestic violence-related homicides. In 2025, 1 in 3 homicides were related to domestic violence compared to one in 12 in 2024, Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said.
“(Intimate partner violence) offenders who are at the highest end of the spectrum, the most likely to escalate to homicides and continue to escalate despite the resources this program will provide, we are committed to prosecuting to the fullest extent, pursue the toughest plea agreements, seek special conditions for probation and execution of their prison sentence if they commit a new act of IPV or other crime,” Johnson said.
First-time or lower-level offenders at risk of escalating their violence will be offered resources and enforcement messages before they offend again, Johnson said.
Police Chief Stacey Graves said that so far this year, two homicides have been because of domestic violence. Now, a host of agencies including the city, the police force, the courts and the prosecutor’s office will work together as a “collective good” to prevent that harm, she said.
For example, courts have launched programs addressing root causes of domestic violence and include firearms relinquishment requirements for domestic abusers, city council has passed intimate violence-specific ordinances, and Johnson has increased the number of domestic violence case filings, Graves said.
“I want Kansas Citians to hear our message: Know we are a lifeline,” Graves said. “We are working in the three pillars of prevention, intervention and enforcement to stop intimate partner violence.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas thanked the Bloch Family Foundation for a $400,000 grant to help fund the program, along with $75,000 from the city’s health department.
“Our goals here are very clear. Reduce repeat harm, disrupt cycles of violence and protect the safety and stability of families in Kansas City,” Lucas said.
