Kansas City needs more police officers

Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith is warning of longer response times, case backlogs and cuts to outreach programs if the department doesn’t receive millions in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.   

Fox4 TV in Kansas City says in his blog post, Smith said the department is down 116 officers and remains under a hiring freeze. He said the department is losing more than eight officers a month to attrition, a number that’s increased since 2011.   

Smith said the department has been able to fill open positions in the past with new recruits out of its regional police academy, but that funding has also been cut. Because of budget cuts, there hasn’t been an academy class since February of 2020.