Violent crime continues in Sedgwick County

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Violent crime may be down in Sedgwick County, but public safety leaders still have major concerns about the community's well-being.

City and county leaders met with public safety officials Friday to discuss crime statistics and public safety challenges in Sedgwick County. The meeting focused on crime rates compared to last year and addressing problems in the local justice system.

Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty outlined three goals for the discussion: raising public awareness, finding innovative solutions and continuing conversations and partnerships throughout the region.

Sedgwick County Undersheriff Brian White was one of many public safety leaders who presented the challenges facing Sedgwick County.

“Generally and overall, violent crime in the county is down,” White said.

Although violent crime overall is down compared to last year, other problems are on the rise.

The number of serious assaults, domestic violence incidents, property vandalism and forgery has increased compared to the previous year.

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan also spoke of a concerning increase in property crime across the city.

“We have some successes with violent crime, we have some challenges with property crime,” Sullivan said. “We see some extreme challenges with shoplifting. Home break-ins have decreased, but car thefts have increased significantly.”

Sullivan also said WPD continues to face a staffing shortage, with the department needing to fill about 40 positions.

Both the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office and the Wichita Police Department emphasized the benefit of a multi-jurisdictional task force to assist with these and other crimes, such as the fentanyl crisis.

Although there have been fewer overdose deaths, officials believe fentanyl use remains a problem across the region.

“Narcan is more accessible in our community, but that doesn't necessarily correlate to the number of people we're seeing using it,” White said. “Even though we see the number of deaths going down here, that doesn’t mean we don’t need to be very careful.”

White said fentanyl remains the most commonly used drug, and an alarming rate of fentanyl is being added to other medications.

Mayor Lily Wu concluded the discussion by highlighting what she saw as key issues, including staffing of public safety officers, mental health and substance abuse issues in the community, and the increase in property crime in Wichita.

This is the second such meeting in 2024 between the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County, with the first focused on cultural arts and parks.

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