For Immediate Release

January 6, 2024

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson today released the 2024 Homicide Analysis Report, a preliminary assessment on how Jackson County’s local law enforcement and criminal justice system responded to homicides in 2024. The report reveals substantial improvements in eastern Jackson County law enforcement agencies referring homicide cases to the Prosecutor’s Office. Police agencies in eastern Jackson County referred 78% of homicides in 2024, up from 56% in 2023.

Data from the report comes from the Kansas City Police Department, eastern Jackson County police agencies through COMBAT, and the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s case management system.

“The improved referral rates reflect the strong collaboration between our dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement across Jackson County, who are all working together to pursue justice for victims and their families. While I am encouraged by the 20% reduction in homicides last year and our office’s consistently high conviction rate, each incident and case represent a family suffering an unimaginable loss,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Johnson. “Moving forward, we’ll continue to build on the proven strategies that make our community safer and work collaboratively with law enforcement to increase the number of cases submitted for charging, while exploring innovative, new ways to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place.”

Other highlights of the 2024 Homicide Analysis Report include:

• The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had a 91% conviction rate for homicide cases disposed in 2024. Of the 80 homicide cases closed, 68 were resolved by guilty plea, seven were resolved by trial, and the remaining five were dismissed due to insufficient evidence or other reasons.
• Based on both KCPD data and the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office's internal case management system, KCPD referred nearly 55% of homicides—74 out of 135 total homicides—to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office for charging, up from 52% in 2023.
• Last year, police agencies in Jackson County, including KCPD, presented 126 homicide cases to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. Of the 126 referred cases, 63 were filed, 42 were declined, and 21 are still under review. Of the declined cases, 21 were due to self-defense claims, four from insufficient evidence and other reasons, five were transferred to appropriate jurisdictions, 11 are pending further investigation, one dismissal was due to the suspect’s death.

Read the full report HERE.