crime

As Kansas City explores constructing a new municipal jail, prison experts say the city has an opportunity to take a different approach to crime. Kansas City has long used its municipal jail for those who violate city codes, but the vast majority of inmates are nonviolent offenders.

Alvin Brooks has served as a bridge in Kansas City for decades — as one of the city’s first Black police officers, an educator, a civil rights leader, a founder of Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, and almost a Kansas City mayor. Today he’s still on call 24/7 for whenever anyone needs help. As he asks everyone to mark their calendars for his 100th birthday in 2032, he looks back to his earliest days in Kansas City.

Kansas City is dangerously close to setting a new record high for homicides. Modeled after an Omaha program that drastically reduced gun deaths, the Kansas City nonprofit KC Common Good is taking aim at addressing the root causes of violent crime.

Since she was appointed head of the Kansas City Police Department eight months ago, Chief Stacey Graves said, reducing violent crime continues to be the top priority.

Jackson County’s Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax, or COMBAT, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The first-of-its-kind program has been lauded for its contributions to crime reduction. But, with gun deaths climbing each year, it's challenging to measure whether the money makes a difference.

Officers also raided the home of Marion County Record publisher Eric Meyer, who lived with his 98-year-old mother, Joan, The newspaper reported that Joan Meyer, “stressed beyond her limits and overwhelmed by hours of shock and grief,” collapsed and died.

Johnny Johnson’s lawyers argued he was too mentally ill to understand the link between his crime and his punishment. But the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed, going against long-established precedent by allowing his execution to continue.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson rejected a bill that would allow compensation for more people who were wrongfully convicted of a crime. Parson argued that taxpayers should not be responsible, but supporters of the legislation say that exonerees deserve to be compensated for the state's mistake.

The vetoed bill would have increased payments for Missouri prisoners who were freed after being found innocent, and expanded who is eligible for compensation. But Republican Gov. Mike Parson said the state should not have to pay for the mistakes of local prosecutors.

Chief Stacey Graves, just five months into the job, promised more officers on the streets to help curb the high homicide and violence rates. Community members overwhelmingly called for local control of the department.

For months, members of the Black community in Kansas City have shared accounts of missing women, and complained about police dismissing their concerns. In response, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says her office will implement a "race-blind" charging system.

The charges, which are expected to be released in coming days, make Trump the first former president in United States history to be criminally indicted.