The number of murders in Kansas continued to rise sharply in 2017, according to crime statistics released by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
The numbers show an increase in all categories of violent crimes in Kansas last year. There were 176 murders in 2017, compared to 148 in 2016. Murders have been rising steadily since 2014, when there were 101 deaths.
To put those numbers in perspective, homicides last year were 40 percent above the average for the previous decade.
The report cautions that it’s difficult to pinpoint a cause for the increase.
Stephen Koranda has more: