According to the KCPD’s 2015 annual report, 15 of Kansas City’s 110 homicides in 2015 could be attributed to domestic violence.

The KCPD Domestic Violence section – a subset of the Special Victims Unit – is the city’s first line of defense against domestic abusers. The section consists of two sergeants, eight detectives, and an administrative assistant. A domestic violence shelter, the Rose Brooks Center, also provides a victim advocate to work with the unit on a regular basis.

In addition to homicides, the Domestic Violence section investigates crimes such as aggravated and non-aggravated assault, residential burglaries, robberies, and even elder abuse. The section has also begun investigating property crimes this year, as a result of the spike in domestic violence-related homicides in 2015.

Major David Lindaman of the Violent Crime division appeared before the Neighborhoods and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, May 18 to discuss the increase in domestic violence cases last year, and what the department is doing to curb the issue.

“We looked at it, and the property crimes are always a precursor to an assault,” said Lindaman. “That was the reason behind bringing them in, so maybe we could see the domestic violence pattern prior to the assault.”

Over the past year, the Domestic Violence Section has been especially busy. In fact, domestic violence-related crimes increased across the board from 2014 to 2015; a trend that Councilwoman Heather Hall noticed during the committee meeting.

“I’m looking at the report, and every single column has increased except for the last one, which is other, from 2014 to 2015,” said Hall. “The police department needs more people, whether they’re civilian employees or police officer employees. They need more people to help reduce some of these crimes, and everyone in your department that comes to talk to us tells me you’re understaffed.”

Lindaman noted that partnerships with organizations like the Rose Brooks Center are working in at least one way: by empowering victims of domestic violence to report the actions of their abusers.

“Domestic violence has always been an underreported crime,” said Lindaman. “It happens in the dark and the shadows, and the victims are afraid to speak out.”

Increasingly, victims are more likely to speak out against their abusers. In 2015, there were 244 more aggravated assault cases filed than in 2014. There were also 158 combined robberies and residential burglaries reported, up from 129 in 2014. Additionally, there were 136 more non-aggravated assault cases and 71 more intimidation and harassment incidents reported in 2015 than there were in 2014.

Committee Chair Alissia Canady followed up on the underreporting of domestic violence cases, asking Lindaman what the department is doing to reach those victims who are still wary about outing their abusers.

“It’s very intensive working with the victims,” said Canady. “While we want to make sure that we are responsive, it’s just as important for us to do what we can to be preventative.”

Lindaman said that one of the most important aspects of his section’s work is building partnerships with trusted advocacy groups like the Rose Brooks Center, which can sometimes have more luck getting through to victims than law enforcement personnel.

“Advocacy is a tremendously important area,” said Lindaman. “Their focus is to get the reports to us, and get the people to us.”