Violent crime went down in Kansas, up in Wichita in 2023. See the KBI’s annual report

Violent crime in Kansas dropped 3.7% in 2023 compared to 2022 but increased 3.8% in Wichita, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s crime index report released Wednesday.

Of the 13,294 cases of violent crime reported in the state, 4,537 occurred in Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. Those crimes include offenses such as murder, rape and robbery.

Wichita police stats show year-over-year crime through the end of April , the latest available month of data, is down in some categories, but up significantly in homicides. There were 32 murders recorded in 2022 compared to 39 in 2023.

Wichita’s violent crime in 2023 occurred at a rate of 11.5 per 1,000 people. Along with those murders, Wichita Police Department reported 290 rapes, 418 robberies and 3,790 aggravated assaults/batteries. Rape was the only crime that decreased from 2022 when there were 304 reported cases.

Property crime in Wichita vs. Kansas

Kansas property crime, which includes burglary and vehicle theft, went up 2.6%, to 66,782, the first increase since 2017. Wichita had a year-over-year increase of about 13% to 19,135 cases, the highest amount since 2020.

Wichita’s property crime occurred at a rate of 48.4 per 1,000 people. There were 2,234 burglaries, 14,780 thefts and 2,121 motor vehicle thefts, all up compared to the year before.

KBI amends its crime data

WPD requested the KBI let it amend its 2022 crime data after an Eagle report found discrepancies in the data police reported compared to crime data the KBI and FBI had for Wichita. The KBI and FBI get their crime data from WPD.

It was the first time the KBI amended its annual report, according to a KBI spokesperson.

2023 Crime Index Report by Jessaca on Scribd