By John Sharp
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told a large crowd at the May 11 meeting of the South Kansas City Alliance that new recruits from two recent police academy classes and the current academy class will add more than 100 additional officers to the understaffed department, and as they complete their in-service training so they can begin their field duties on their own, it will shorten police response times and allow the department to increase neighborhood patrols.
South Patrol Police Commander Major Kari Thompson told the crowd that there have been significant decreases in domestic violence related aggravated assaults, thefts from autos and shoplifting in South Patrol’s coverage area during the last 30 days compared to the prior 30 days, but noted there also have been significant increases in overall aggravated assaults, burglaries and shootings during the same period and reminded residents and business owners to continue taking appropriate precautions to keep themselves and their property safe.