Money to protect witnesses to violent crimes is hard to get. KC mayor proposes solution

State funds to protect witnesses, whose hesitancy or resistance to cooperation has long been a barrier in violent crime investigations, can be slow to come by in Kansas City, local officials say.

That’s why, despite access to a state-run witness protection program with nearly $2 million in reserves, Kansas City officials have proposed a more immediate, city-funded solution to help victims and witnesses in need of immediate protection.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Melesa Johnson, his deputy chief of staff and general counsel, outlined a proposed victim-witness relocation fund at a news conference Thursday.

The goal of the city program is simple: it would allow local agencies to approach witnesses to recent crimes and offer them resources more immediately than through the state program.

“If you’re going to step up for the public to make our whole community safer, our community is going to step up to make sure you and your family are safe,” Lucas said.

A local witness protection fund

To solve cases, police often rely on witnesses. But many witnesses are reluctant to come forward for a myriad of reasons, including intimidation or threats made against them.

If someone receives a knock at their door the night of the shooting, whether from a detective or an anti-violence worker, Lucas said, a common response is: “I don’t want to have this pain come onto my family from knowing that I talked.”

He understands the concerns of safety for individuals and their families who witness a crime. He hopes this fund, in turn, communicates to them that the city is invested in their security.

The Kansas City Police Department has long lamented the difficulty in convincing victims and witnesses to speak with them in cases of homicides and other violent crimes.

The average cost to relocate a nuclear family ranges from $3,000 to $4,000, according to the ordinance, which cites local statistics from Partners for Peace, a coalition of local groups focused on violence prevention and violence interruption.

The fund, if approved, would make $250,000 available to witnesses this fiscal year through unappropriated money in the city’s health fund. Lucas said the funds could be available as soon as Christmas.

“Victims and witnesses who receive appropriate and adequate care and support are more likely to cooperate with the criminal justice system in bringing perpetrators of crime to justice,” the proposed ordinance language reads.

KC rarely utilized state funding

In 2019, The Star reported that an external assessment of the Kansas City Police Department found detectives had used their own money to put witnesses in hotels because the state lacked a witness protection program.

The assessment report, which was conducted by a retired Los Angeles homicide detective and a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, concluded that Jackson County and Missouri must implement and sufficiently fund formal witness protection and relocation protocols.

The following year, Missouri lawmakers created the fund in 2020 during a special session on violent crime. That year, Kansas City topped its bloodiest year ever, with 182 homicides. KCPD solved 53% of the killings that occurred in the city in 2020.

The Department of Public Safety allows the money to be used on a variety of victims’ services, as long as the crime was violent or involved threats of violence, the victim was a Missouri resident and was not a perpetrator or accessory in the act. If they are set to testify, KCPD must submit a summary of their anticipated testimony to the state to get the funds. The funds are available on a reimbursement, first-come, first-served basis.

The money can be used on security for victims or witnesses, burner phones, food and housing, storage of belongings, legal fees to file for restraining orders and for therapy or counseling.

In May 2020, then-Police Chief Rick Smith said that in one week, eight of 10 surviving shooting victims declined to cooperate in the investigation or to press charges. The same was true of two-thirds of survivors in past investigations, Smith said at the time.

“There are certain parameters that a case and witness must meet,” KCPD spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina told The Star last year. “Our investigative staff weigh the possibility of applying when cases with witnesses that need protection come along.”

By June 2021, KCPD had only dipped into the funds once for a “shelter expense” that totaled $116.68, Missouri Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike O’Connell said at the time. The funds by that point had been available for four months. $1 million was available.

The state fund currently has more than $1.9 million available to law enforcement agencies.

This calendar year, Kansas City took advantage of $8,691.74 from the pool. All in all, Kansas City has used $9,753.34, O’Connell and Kansas City Police spokeswoman Capt. Leslie Foreman told The Star on Thursday.

Lucas, who had initially pushed for the creation of the state fund, now says it doesn’t work to the advantage of many people who could use it.

“We’re not waiting on Jefferson City for all our solutions. I look forward to them working on a program that gets money out faster, but in the meantime, Kansas City will do all it can to make sure we have solutions as well.”

‘A huge step forward for Kansas City’

“We are certainly in support of anything that will help victims, witnesses, and families and we look forward to working with the involved partners,” Foreman said in a statement Thursday when asked about the local proposal.

Mike Mansur, with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, which also works alongside Partners for Peace, said the availability of local funds “would be a huge step forward for Kansas City.”

“It would not only help individuals in very important ways. It would also help us convince the community that their public safety system will protect them if they are an unfortunate victim of gun violence,” he said.

Johnson, with the mayor’s office, emphasized that the fund would do more than just help protect community members. She hopes it also helps restore community trust in local institutions.

“There is a sincere barrier between community and law enforcement, especially communities that are highly policed, ticketed, arrested and prosecuted,” she said. “So what do we do? We can’t just expect people to offer us information if we’re not offering anything in return.”

The proposed ordinance was introduced at Thursday’s Kansas City Council meeting. It is set to be heard in the Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday.