COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR RESOLUTION NO. 210756
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RESOLUTION - Directing the City Manager to identify $200,000.00 in funding for this fiscal year to be used to develop and implement a program to receive, store and safely dispose of weapons surrendered in Kansas City Municipal Court domestic violence cases and to report back to Council within 45 days with a plan for sustainable funding, development and implementation of this program that includes best practices from other jurisdictions.
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WHEREAS, Kansas City funds its Municipal Court, providing, among other items, much needed support for those in our community who are victims of domestic violence; and
WHEREAS, Municipal Court has a division dedicated to the prosecution of domestic violence; and
WHEREAS, in connection with Municipal Court convictions, defendants often agree to permanently forfeit any weapons possessed by that defendant as a condition of probation; and
WHEREAS, Municipal Court has 171 defendants with 288 open cases where either “permanently forfeit weapon” or “do not possess or purchase any firearm ammunition” is a condition of the probation; and
WHEREAS, when weapons are surrendered by a defendant, there is no physical location for that defendant to turn the weapons in; i.e., no employee, no process to comply with that term of probation and no location established to receive the weapons, store the weapons or safely dispose of the weapons; and
WHEREAS, to effectively establish a program to receive, store and safely dispose of all weapons voluntarily forfeited in domestic violence actions, a city employee classification will need to be identified and funded to oversee all elements of the program and a depository safe to store the weapons must be purchased and placed in a location identified as safe for receipt of the weapons; and
WHEREAS, Council desires to establish a process for receipt, storage and safe disposal of all weapons voluntarily forfeited in Kansas City Municipal Court domestic violence actions; and
WHEREAS, working with the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) to effectuate the goals of this resolution will create a positive and impactful path to solve the issues identified herein; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
The City Manager is directed to identify $200,000.00 in funding for this fiscal year to be used to develop and implement a program to receive, store and safely dispose of all weapons surrendered in connection with Kansas City Municipal Court domestic violence cases and to report back to Council within 45 days with a plan for sustainable funding, development and implementation of this program that include best practices from other jurisdictions.
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