Killa City: The KCPD’s new tool in the fight against violent crime

In the early morning hours on Sept. 30, 2009, SWAT teams readied themselves to kick in the front doors of some of the city’s worst drug houses.
On their heels were a cadre of detectives from the Kansas City Police Department and lawmen from six federal agencies. At the SWAT team’s all-clear, they were prepared to storm in and serve the pile of arrest warrants they’d amassed since January.

It was the beginning of a three-day violent crime sweep, one of KCPD’s new tools in the fight against the city’s murder rate.

By early fall of this year, 89 people had died violently within the city limits, according to KCPD records. Since then, police have slowed — but not stopped — the flow of homicides: 21 more people have been killed since that morning in late September.  As of today, 2009 ends with 13 percent fewer killings than last year — but still a 17 percent increase over 2007.

KCPD brass hatched the plan in August 2008 — right around the time The Pitch took on the Killa City project. Summertime violence had escalated into a blood bath, primarily on the east side. With 22 homicides — nearly one per day — it was the single deadliest month in a decade. Four months later, a two-day sweep, the first of its kid, netted 108 arrests on 138 warrants.

View KCPD Violent Crime Sweep zones in a larger map