Most Wanted In Kansas City: More Police Recruits
Most Wanted In Kansas City: More Police Recruits
KCPD Struggles to Fill Open Positions Share this story Published May 12th, 2021 at 6:00 AM Above image credit: Inside a police car on patrol. (Brian Perlman | Flatland)
The math behind the tsunami of change hurtling toward the Kansas City Police Department is simple. There’s a lot to do and not enough officers to handle it.
Calls for service, including 911 pleas for help from the public, were up 15% during April. Homicides are on track to repeat, if not exceed, the record total of 182 during 2020. The same can be said of drive-by shootings and gunshots that hit someone, but thankfully, don’t take their life.
Northeast Johnson County mayors talked about the highs and lows of 2020 during the NEJC Chamber luncheon last month. While COVID-19 and racial unrest were among the main topics discussed, leaders also previewed upcoming city developments and initiatives like the wayfinding project for Downtown Overland Park (pictured above in a file photo).
Northeast Johnson County mayors reflected on 2020 a year notably filled with coronavirus-related challenges at the 2021 NEJC Chamber State of the Cities luncheon last month.
The luncheon itself served as an example of a COVID-19 challenge, as the annual event went virtual with an afternoon Zoom call. While racial unrest, the 2020 election and big city projects were all hot topics, COVID-19 sat atop everyone’s list, including Overland Park Council President Kurt Skoog who stood in for Mayor Carl Gerlach.