Wichita ties with Kansas City on murder record as violence spikes nationally

Wichita tied Kansas City, Kansas, with 56 murders in 2020, combining for a total of 58% of Kansas’ 193 murders during the record year, according to Kansas Bureau of Investigation statistics released Friday and dating back to 1959.

Meanwhile, property crime was the lowest it has been since 1973, possibly since so many people were staying home. Property crime includes burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft. Burglaries were the lowest since 1966. The motor vehicle thefts in 2020 were the only one of the three categories higher than 2019 and the 10-year average.

Kansas wasn’t the only place seeing an uptick in killings.

In Lubbock, Texas, the homicide rate doubled from the prior year, and it nearly doubled in Milwaukee. New York City had its highest number of killings since 2011; St. Louis since 1993.

Violent crime in the U.S. peaked in the early 1990s, according to FBI data going back to 1960. The homicide rate peaked around 1980, the data shows.

Last year saw an amalgam of factors that may have played roles leading to the spike in killings: the COVID pandemic, shutdowns and record unemployment levels.

A study by the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice and Arnold Ventures found homicides rates in 2020 topped 2019 levels during every month, but the increase was steepest after large teams of officers were deployed to demonstrations “reduced policing out in the community where it’s needed to keep crime in check.”

The study found that in June through August, homicides rose 37% compared to 2019.

The study also suggested that the pandemic “has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, placing at-risk individuals under additional physical, mental, emotional and financial stress.”

The KBI, using the FBI’s definition, defines murder as the “willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.” It does not include accidental or justified killings.

When considering all homicides, Wichita ends up with a record of 59 in 2020. Kansas City also set a record last year.

Kansas statistics

Kansas murders in 2020 were about 48% higher than the previous year, the KBI data show.

Of the murders, 18.7% have an unknown suspect and 35.8% have unknown circumstances. The known circumstances include domestic violence 17.6% of the time, drug deals were 8.3% and gang activity or drive-by incidents accounted for 5.7%.

The high number of murders contributed to a 10-year high of violent crime, which includes rape, robbery and aggravated assault/battery.

“Aggravated assaults make up a majority of the violent crimes reported and also increased by 13.8%,” from 2019, the KBI report said.

How did Wichita do?

While Wichita and Kansas City tied for the highest number of murders; behind them was Topeka with 20. Below that was a tie with four each in Junction City, Overland Park and Leavenworth..

The state had a total crime rate of 29.7 per 1,000 people, violent crime rate of 4.7 and property crime of 25. Wichita’s totals were 63.8, 13.5 and 50.3. Kansas City was 61, 8.1 and 52.9.

Wichita accounts for about 13.4% of the state’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but accounted for more than 37% of the state’s violent crime and over 26% of the property crime.

Wichita’s violent crime rate was the highest since at least 2010, data show. It was led by the highest number of aggravated assaults/batteries since at least 2010.

Wichita has 31 homicides so far this year, which is three less than the same time last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 1:30 PM.