Big city crime in Missouri: Record year in Kansas City, but progress in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- The number of killings rose to a record level in one of Missouri's two big cities last year, and it dropped substantially in the other.

Kansas City police data shows 182 killings in 2023, 12 more than in 2022 and three more than the previous all-time high of 179 in 2020. The police department data does not include officer-involved killings.

Mayor Quinton Lucas said Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, that some crime trends "have gone in the right direction, as nonfatal shootings are down this year compared to last, while others, like homicides, have reached new highs. We are working collaboratively to build a safer city in 2024."

Meanwhile, across the state in St. Louis, Missouri's second-largest city saw 158 killings last year, 42 fewer than the 200 in 2022, the office of Mayor Tishaura Jones announced Tuesday. St. Louis also had a 24% reduction in shootings, and the number of juvenile victims dropped 50% from the previous year.

Jones credited police commissioner Robert J. Tracy, who has been on the job for one year, and the department's newly established Office of Violence Prevention.