Crime & Safety

skylight in corridor of transitional living program

From the Frying Pan of Foster Care to the Fire of Adulthood

Finally becoming old enough to drink legally is often accompanied by a night out on the town, but the experience can be quite different for foster kids in Missouri. “We’ve heard stories of kids who were dropped off at City Union Mission by their social worker because it’s the kid’s 21st birthday,” said Nathan Ross,…

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Aubri Thompson with daughter

Kansas Teens Can Face Bumpy Road As They ‘Age Out’ Of Foster Care System

Aubri Thompson has already had her share of challenges by age 21: She left the foster care system without a designated caregiver, lived without a steady home for more than a year and became a single parent before finishing college. Thompson lived in the Kansas foster care system from age 14, when she was reported…

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Former President Donald Trump

Trump Unveils ‘Hard Power’ Budget That Boosts Military Spending

The president’s budget blueprint calls for a 10 percent increase in military spending, along with deep cuts in foreign aid and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Tireless Activist Battling Back After Being Hit By Car

The day that a car shattered Steve Israelite’s body in September, he was in a crosswalk on 63rd Street heading to the Panera Bread in Brookside. While there, he planned to check his e-mail because he was early for a meeting with our mutual friend Julie Warm, co-director of the UMKC Service-Learning Program. Steve’s injuries…

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Michelle T. Johnson cover image for commentary reading "parallel lives"

Commentary | Standing in the Universe of our Police Chief

There is a new show on Netflix that I rapidly consumed called “Stranger Things.” I found it a compelling mishmash — “Poltergeist” meets “Stand By Me” with a little “Twin Peaks” thrown in for good measure. In it, for lack of a better way of putting it, there is a parallel universe called the “Upside…

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Woman

Life, Prison, Then Life Again

The prison population is growing, and growing fast. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the number of incarcerated felons grew by 408 percent between the years of 1978 and 2014. Even more eye-opening: The number of incarcerated women in the United States ballooned 646 percent between the years of 1980 and 2010, according to a study from The Sentencing Project, a…

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Nick Haines questions a Kansas City councilwoman

KCPT Crime Discussion Yields Many Proposed Solutions

Panelists, audience members say there is no one clear-cut answer; police argue against more cops

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art sculpture at Synergy Services

Children’s services tax on table for Jackson, Clay Counties

Jackson and Clay counties are hoping to join a handful of Missouri municipalities that have enacted a local tax to fund services for at-risk

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In the Margins: A KC place for putting lives back together

And at a time when basic stability is most important, many felons have a difficult time finding necessities like work, health care and housing: People are notoriously reluctant to offer a job or rent an apartment to a former felon. Because of this, research shows that offenders without support systems can end up relying on a patchwork group of underfunded services including public mental health or rehab facilities, transitional housing and vocational assistance. A KC program aims to help.

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KC VIOLENCE FREE COMMITTEE

KC health commission expands anti-violence effort

For several years, the Kansas City, Mo., Health Commission has delved into the city’s violent crime problem by trying to stop the spread as if it’s a communicable disease. The commission’s main vehicle for this approach has been the Aim4Peace program, which (among other things) sends trained “interrupters” into the streets to help curb the…

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