Chief's blog: Police remain busy in Kansas City despite stay-at-home order

From Chief Smith's blog: 

We’ve received a lot of inquiries about how all the changes in our society to stop the spread of the coronavirus are impacting crime in Kansas City. Other cities have seen crime fall across the board, but in Kansas City, it has been mixed.

First, I’d like to thank everyone in Kansas City who have been adhering to the stay-at-home order. We’re finding that the vast majority of people are abiding by it, which should help us flatten the curve and defeat this pandemic more quickly. It’s also helping keep us – your first responders – healthy and able to serve.

We need officers out on the street because violent crime here has not changed much with social distancing measures or the stay-at-home order. In the two weeks before the stay-at-home order, March 10-13, we had six homicides. We’ve had seven homicides in the two weeks since, March 24-April 6. Aggravated assaults increased from 61 in the two weeks before the order to 68 in the two weeks after the order.

As many expected, domestic violence assaults have increased a bit. If you are in an unsafe situation at home, please call 816-HOTLINE, which will connect you to domestic violence advocates in the Kansas City area. Domestic violence shelters and prevention agencies are still operating and providing services.

See more on the Chief's blog.