Sworn into office in January, new Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson faced setbacks from the start due to the county legislature's lengthy delay passing a budget. But her office still managed to find ways to ramp up criminal prosecutions.
"When I started this job in January, our charging rate was about 41%, we were only charging about 41% of all cases submitted to us," Johnson told KCUR's Up To Date.
"Well, fast forward to the month of May, 74%. A drastic increase."
In the wake of a deadly weekend in Kansas City, Johnson called on businesses to find ways to help reduce crime, including trimming shrubbery, limiting operating hours and making parking lots inaccessible to vehicles after business hours.
The county prosecutor's office is working closely with law enforcement officers and municipal prosecutors to bring charges against individuals involved in domestic violence, drug use and property crime. Last month, Johnson's office brought charges against five men believed to be responsible for multiple burglaries in the metro.
The spike in business break ins hurt shops, restaurants and bars across Waldo, Brookside and downtown. And Johnson credits the breakthrough to a good relationship between the Kansas City Police and her newly formed crime strategies unit.
"It was some good police work, supported by my office, watching surveillance videos... figuring out people’s modus operandi and how they go about committing these offenses and being able to connect those dots," Johnson said.
"It has certainly been the busiest, most overwhelming, yet most rewarding and invigorating six months of my life, and I still feel very privileged to be in this position," Johnson said.
Johnson also pointed to the success of SAVE KC, a focused deterrence initiative, which she said has so far been successful in reducing non-fatal shooting and steadying the homicide rate.
The program identifies at risk individuals and repeat offenders to offer social services in exchange for the individuals to stop engaging in criminal activity.
"Listen, you are either going to keep fooling around, or you're going to find out I'm not playing with y'all," Johnson said. "Because this is unsustainable."
Johnson added that gun violence in Kansas City is connected to Missouri's extremely loose gun laws.
- Melesa Johnson, prosecutor, Jackson County
