Stacey Graves, the outgoing chief of the Kansas City Police Department, hopes people remember her as being fair, transparent and a front-facing communicator. She announced this summer that she will be stepping away from the role after four years.
Speaking to KCUR’s Up To Date on Tuesday, Graves said that police departments around the country had a lot of work to do after the COVID era.
“The police chiefs in this era that I stepped into really had to get in there and do a lot of work, a lot of relationship building, improving police legitimacy, really working on trust,” Graves explained. “But then, also ushering in the new generation of police officers, you know, getting recruiting back up, and then bringing in technology and really embracing it.”
Homicides and nonfatal shootings have dropped in Kansas City during her tenure, which Graves attributes to a citywide-focused deterrence program and a larger number of police officers.
Many of Kansas City’s community groups agree that the police department under Graves’ leadership has improved relations with the city’s Black community and repaired a previously rocky relationship with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
However, the department also dealt with a multi-million dollar budget crisis, which was the result of officers working a significant amount of overtime and larger-than-expected lawsuit settlement payouts over fatal shootings and excessive force. The city ultimately had to allocate an additional $3.5 million from the public safety sales tax fund to the police department earlier this year.
Graves has served as the chief since 2022, but has worked at the department for nearly there decades. She is the first woman to have held the chief role in a permanent capacity.
“There's a part of me that kind of downplays (that distinction), but then there's a part of me that kind of owns it,” she said. “I am the first female police chief of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department in 148 years when I took the position. That's great, and I'm glad that I can be a role model, or maybe someone could see this and know that they could aspire to be in a leadership position like this. This is a tough position, and a woman can do it and do it well. On the other hand, I was a qualified candidate. I was the best person for the job, in my personal opinion.”
Graves said she will stay in her role until the Board of Police Commissioners — which is controlled by the state of Missouri — names her successor. The last selection process, which resulted in Graves' hiring, was criticized for its lack of transparency and community input.
Kansas City has not hired a police chief from outside of the KCPD in more than half a century. However, Graves said she supports an internal hire for her replacement.
"I think it's definitely a benefit to have an internal candidate, and I say that because, first of all, I know the caliber of men and women coming up behind me... an internal candidate already has relationships in the community. They already know what the differences between the Westside, the East Side, the Northland, the Southland — they already have those community contacts... And you know, bringing someone from the outside... it's a catch-up. Someone wouldn't already know all those things or have those relationships and have that trust already built with with people in our city. So if you're asking me that question, I that's that's my answer."
