Over the last decade, Kansas City, Missouri, has averaged 108 homicides per year; 2009 closed out at 110. That bloodshed was the subject of this week's cover story by Justin Kendall.
Here, we speak with the man responsible for bringing justice to the families of the deceased: Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar.
Pitch: What do you see as the biggest factors contributing to the homicide rate?
In my estimation, people commit violent crimes when they are angry, under the influence of drugs, under the influence of alcohol or often times a combo of both. Most of our murders come down to that. It's not as complicated as a lot of people think.
In your three years as county prosecutor, how has the character or nature of violent crime changed in Kansas City?
There's been an increase in senseless violence. All violence is senseless at the end of the day, but what I'm talking about is younger offenders who feel like they have to retaliate with extreme acts of violence for very simple conflict situations. I had a case a few years ago: There were two defendants who had literally grown up on the same street. They had a fight over a girl and it escalated into gun play. Ten years ago, that would be a very, very rare case. The worst thing that would happen is a bloody nose -- nothing that would make it up to my desk.
In addition to the COMBAT tax, which Jackson County voters renewed this
year, what sorts of programs are going to help nip the homicide problem?
We were thrilled [when COMBAT passed]. In the economic downturn,
revenues are dwindling. If we had lost the tax it would have been
devastating to the law enforcement community. One of the things I'll
push for going forward is a requirement for people coming off parole or
on any kind of probation [to] attend anger management or conflict
resolution. I'd like to see that as a requirement for people who are
on probation for burglary or property crime, before they graduate to
violent crime.
If the problem is so known, and a fix so accomplishable, why aren't these programs in place yet?
Resources at the state and local level, with the economy the way it is,
are dwindling. New programs are very hard if not impossible to come by.
Cities and counties across the country and state are just fighting to
maintain the status quo and get the basics done.
On that same topic, the Jackson County drug court has been lauded as a
good way to treat underlying drug problems that can contribute to
violent crime. Yet in late 2009, the drug court stopped taking new
cases. What happened?
We were in danger of running out of money for treatment to people in the program. The only responsible thing to do was to make sure the people finished the program before we ran out of money letting [new] people come in.
What other funding sources are on your scopes? What about federal statues that give municipalities a share of proceeds seized during drug raids?
The current state law requires all assets [seized in drug busts] to go to the local school district. If [cases were prosecuted] through federal statues, we'd be entitled to a percentage of that. When I became prosecutor, I declined an equity share in those types of seizures because I thought it was circumventing state law. But I'm going to have to revisit that policy because of the situation we're in with our budgets.
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