An annual report on crime in Kansas shows property crime rising and a decline in violent crime, providing benchmarks that may guide law enforcement and community leaders.
The KBI, Kansas Highway Patrol and attorney general are combining forces to undermine illicit fentanyl networks in the state.
Reports of burglary, murder and rape declined statewide in 2022, according to an annual report, though numbers have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
The KBI found that the Catholic church minimized child rape with euphemisms, protected priests accused of rape and supported clergy financially after they had been implicated in sexual assault.
The KBI’s four-year inquiry into alleged child sexual abuse in four Catholic dioceses and a breakaway Catholic sect in the state resulted in referral of 30 cases to county prosecutors targeting 14 members of the clergy, state officials said Friday.
Susan Leighnor expressed frustration on Wednesday state law enforcement agencies had yet to release findings of an investigation launched nearly four years ago by the attorney general into alleged sexual misconduct by members of the Catholic clergy in Kansas.
Attorney General-elect Kris Kobach said Tuesday he would nominate a former Republican rival, Tony Mattivi, to be director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation director said the agency’s new data tracking system is about halfway complete and will create a better overview of the state’s crime problem, including a potential rise in fentanyl cases.
The director of the KBI said Tuesday a $3 million federal grant would vastly improve the state’s information technology system for tracking criminal incidents and arrests as well as enhance collaboration among local law enforcement agencies.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Lawrence police shot and killed Michael S. Blanck, 43, of Lawrence, Sunday evening, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
