KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said Tuesday that violent crime decreased since Operation LeGend - the federal task force created to address violent crime - began on July 8.
"While we can’t say Operation LeGend is the cause of this decrease, there’s certainly a correlation," KCPD Chief Richard Smith said.
The department released the numbers in a Tuesday morning tweet.
Violent crime in Kansas City has decreased significantly since #OperationLeGend. pic.twitter.com/cFFOaiclWJ
— kcpolice (@kcpolice) August 25, 2020
The department compared data from a period including May 23 to July 7 (which was six weeks before the operation) to a period including July 8 to Aug. 23 (six weeks after the operation started).
According to the department, overall violent crime is down 30 percent since the operation began.
Aggravated assault crimes lead the way with the greatest difference - a 48 percent decrease since the start of the operation.
Non-fatal shootings are down 25 percent since the start of the operation and strong-armed robberies went down 24 percent.
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015.
