TKC Reader Asks: How Did Kansas City's High Crime Ranking Get So Bad???

Special thanks to a reader who sent this reminder about our place in the world . . .

"You are probably already aware of this but I was shocked when a friend sent me this article from Forbes rating the most dangerous cities in USA.  I knew St Louis was number 1 for some time, but KC is now #9 in the top 10 with Detroit and Baltimore!  How did this happen?  I've always lived here and wasn't many years ago that I used to boast to out-of-state relatives how safe KC was."

Check how the data was compiled . . .

"MoneyGeek compiled the list of most dangerous cities in the US and safest places in the America by using the cost of crime per capita, which was based on standardized crime data from the FBI combined with research on the economic cost by type of crime. The total societal cost of crime for these cities? An estimated $203 billion in 2020."

Now . . . 

We won't pretend to know all the answers about crime but here are two common themes that continue to emerge . . . 

- Many locals believe that an ongoing KCPD staffing problem impairs the ability to confront worsening local violence. 

Similarly . . . 

- Others suggest that political argumentation & constant criticism targeting law enforcement locally & across the nation have served to undermine the fight against violent crime.

To be fair . . . 

- Many progressives contend that rising violent crime is both a symptom of increasing poverty AND an expression of worsening civil unrest -- (They argue that) Only when the root causes of this frustration are addressed, will violence start to decrease.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Crime In America: Study Reveals The 10 Most Unsafe Cities (It's Not Where You Think)

Crime is surging in the US -and it's only getting worse. Homicides increased by 7% in 2021 and gun violence has been on the rise since 2014, with deadly shootings in large cities up by 80%.