KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Kansas City, Kansas, saw a historic low number of homicides in 2024, but the police department and a Wyandotte County community advocate say the trust it took to achieve this is immeasurable.
"I think that balance of community engagement and enforcement is really important," Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Chief of Police Karl Oakman said.
Over the last nine years, KCK has averaged 40 homicides a year.
The last time KCK had 22 homicides was in 2012. Before that, it was in 1986.
Twenty-two homicides is two fewer deaths than last year but is a 23 percent decrease overall in violent crime.
"We've put a lot of strategies and things in place over the past couple of years to continue to work on getting that down even further," Oakman said.
In the three years Oakman’s been chief, he says some those strategies included cracking down on repeat offenders, being more visible in neighborhoods and increasing community engagement.
There are also goals Oakman says the department has for 2025, including having the Real-Time Intelligence Crime Center be fully operational, new gunshot detection technology and keeping pressure on fentanyl dealers.
"Our community has to be part of the solution," Oakman said.
It’s the same thing Khadijah Hardaway believes.
She’s the co-founder ofJustice for Wyandotte, an organization formed in 2020 seeking reform in Wyandotte County, particularly for female victims of violence and abuse.
A number of the survivors Hardaway works with were abused by Roger Golubski, the disgraced former KCKPD detective who died in a suspected suicide.
"In a lot of ways, when it comes to homicides, the police department is not often trusted," Hardaway said. "And we're trying to build trust and transparency and honesty within governments."
Hardaway says lifting up the community includes educating them on how to work with law enforcement when necessary.
"[It’s] utilizing those components of organizations or institutions as partnerships," she said.
She’s set the example for this by advocating for KCKPD to form its first cold case unit in 2022.
"If they can do their job effectively because we are a part of making a difference in the community, then I think that goes hand-in-hand," Hardaway said. "We’re helping the community help themselves, and hopefully by that, it’ll help…keep those numbers down."
At an event Monday, KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner echoed the sentiment about community involvement in crime solutions.
"So when you talk about those numbers, historic lows in violent crime, that is really a good indicator that there is a positive relationship with the community here in Kansas City, Kansas," Garner said.
It’s a relationship both Hardaway and Oakman want to see continue and grow.
And while their work takes different forms, they’re striving for the same outcome.
"It gives me hope," Hardaway said.
Hardaway is also facilitating free community conversations on behalf of Justice for Wyandotte that offer another solution to crime problems in the county.
It's the organization's third time hosting FMACCs — Facilitating Meeting Around Community Confict — and it's certainly not the last, Hardaway says.
The next ones are from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, January 10 and Saturday, January 11at Allen Chapel AME Church (3421 North 29th Street).
They're open to anyone in the community interested in navigating community conflict disproportionately impacting African Americans in Wyandotte County.
Email Khadijahhardaway@yahoo.com to RSVP with names of participants, organization name, and contact information including email & phone number.
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