Print edition: 
Wichita police solved 19 of 26 homicide cases in 2009, which would put their clearance rate well above the national average. But those seven unsolved cases still gnaw at police officials.
"Even if we have one homicide case out of 26 where we don't get the information that we need, I look at that as not good," said Capt. Brent Allred, who heads the Crimes Against Persons section of the Police Department."... If you sit in my seat, that's still not good enough."
Wichita's clearance rate for homicides in 2009 was 73 percent, well above the 2007 national clearance rate of 58 percent, according to the FBI.
And, Allred said, police have made progress on many of the unsolved cases.
"The only exception to this is the Craig Barnes homicide," he said. "He was found in the street. We don't really know who was around.
"All these other ones, we know there were people around."
Police Chief Norman Williams emphasized the unsolved homicides in his annual review of Wichita's crime trends late last month.
"We need our citizens to help us solve those," he said. "There's not a homicide on there that cannot be solved."
Gaining trust
Part of authorities' frustration in trying to solve the cases is a lack of trust. For example, in some cases, investigators know there are witnesses who could provide important pieces of information.
"We've talked to a couple of these people," Allred said. "We know that they know, and they know that we know that they know."
In some instances, Allred said, key witnesses are staying silent in the hope that someone else will step forward. But cases can't be built on second- and third-hand information, he said.
Police officials have met with leaders in Wichita's Asian communities to "let them know that we're close" to solving cases, Allred said. Of the unsolved homicides, three involve Asian men killed in two separate shootings.
"We just need a little bit more information," he said.
But police have not yet established enough trust for residents to feel comfortable stepping forward with information, said Mohan Kambampati, head of the Wichita Indochinese Association.
"The reason they are not talking at all is they are afraid: 'Police are not going to guard my home all day long,' " Kambampati said.
"They know these people (suspects) know the ins and outs of who may have said something, and they'll come back and do something else."
J.J. Selmon of Sunflower Community Action said that some Wichitans have told stories of calling in tips and having officers come to their homes for more information.
That, he said, has the effect of "Shine a light on me. Yeah, I'm the snitch that turned this drug house in."
Allred said he has not heard of that happening. At the same time, he said, he can't rule out the possibility that officers overlooked a request for officers not to visit and went to an address for more information.
"There's a lot of mistrust," Selmon said.
People fear they have no protection if they were to offer information about crimes, he said.
"That's why people just keep their mouths shut and go on about their business," Selmon said. "They don't want to be retaliated on or be seen as a snitch."
Crime Stoppers
Crime Stoppers is a way to report crimes or call in tips anonymously, police officials said, but some people don't trust it because they don't understand how it works.
Allred said Crime Stoppers is a valuable resource in combating criminal activity, but the tips can't be used in court because police and prosecutors don't know who provided the information.
"Crime Stoppers will keep them anonymous," Detective Hans Asmussen, who works with the nonprofit organization, said in an e-mail. "If we do not live up to our end of the deal, word will get around and people will stop calling. The program would then fall apart."
Kambampati acknowledged that Wichita police are "really working very hard" to solve the crimes and earn trust, and he expects that to eventually happen.
In his presentation on crime trends late last month, Williams praised the high percentage of cases that were solved last year because of information provided by residents.
For those in position to help who still feel reluctant, he posed a question:
"You have to ask yourself, if somebody killed your loved one, would you want someone to help solve that case?"
