Crime dropping in Kansas City: What's the latest in the trend?

Crime dropping in Kansas City: What's the latest in the trend?Photo: iStock
Hoodline
Published on October 25, 2019

The number of crime incidents in Kansas City saw an overall decrease last week, after a previous rise, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects reports from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents fell to 864 for the week of Oct. 14, down from 955 the week before.

The overall decrease in crime reports was led by theft and vandalism. Theft fell to 310 incidents last week, from 375 the week before. Vandalism went from 94 to 70.

There was also a notable percentage decrease in burglary, from 56 incidents per week to 47, and in arson, from five to four incidents.

Among the few types of offenses that saw an uptick last week, reports of assault went from 190 to 211. Shootings rose from zero to two, and robbery went up from 23 to 24.

There were 196 reports of "other" crimes, a decrease of 16 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 110 involved arrests, such as for drug possession, down from 116 reported arrests the week before.

As far as where crime is concentrated in the city, Downtown, Old Westport and Paseo West had the most reported incidents last week. Downtown was at the top of the list the previous week as well.

Crime in Downtown decreased the most. Crime reports in Lykins also fell, after increasing the week before, and incidents in Martin City are down considerably as well.

Regarding when crime most often occurs, Friday, Wednesday and Monday had the most reported crimes last week. The largest decrease from the previous week occurred on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, while incidents on Monday went up. Comparing times of day, evening, late afternoon and midday saw the most crime last week.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.