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KC police commissioners discuss homicide rate

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There have been 120 homicides in Kansas City this year. City leaders and police want to bring that number down as well as the number of violent crimes.

Police chief Darryl Forte mapped the city's "problem" areas during Tuesday's Police Board meeting. He said blighted neighborhoods and poverty continue to be a catalyst for violence in the same parts of town.

"75 percent of our violent crimes occurs in 34 square miles of the city," said Forte.

Those 34 square miles encompass St. John Avenue to 85th Street and Troost Ave. to Topping. Forte says this area has been a problem for more than 30 years.

"I think sometimes we don't really care because it's not happening in our backyard in some places," said Forte.

This is Kansas City's highest homicide rate since 2008 when 126 people were killed. In 2005,127 people were killed.

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Lisa Benson can be reached at lisa.benson@kshb.com.

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