KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council works through the proposed 2020-21 budget, KCPD Chief of Police Rick Smith defended discussions to add more officers.
Smith said even though the police department’s budget is 38% of the city’s general fund, current staffing limits police to responding mostly to 911 calls Tuesday on his blog.
“This department has made many efforts to enhance relationships with the community, but with our current staffing, officers are primarily limited to responding to 911 calls,” Smith wrote. “This limits proactive and community policing.”
Smith cited a study released in 1968, which was the focus of a 41 Action News investigation in 2018, showing the city needed 1,500 officers. As of 2020, 52 years later, the number of officers stands at 1,335.
Smith said KCPD isn’t trying to “take over” the city, but his department is just trying to find “reasonable and effective” ways to address violent crime.
“Adding police officers is one of the only proven ways to do so that is within our control,” Smith wrote.
The council’s Public Safety Committee will consider the budget at hearings in March. The full adoption of the budget is slated for March 26.
