Since its inception, the Kansas City police department’s cold case sex crimes squad has cleared 141 cases, identified 25 possible serial rapists and arrested at least seven of them — including the man suspected of being the Waldo rapist.
But the velocity and volume of its heralded work soon could slow to a crawl.
Grant funding is expiring and could run out as soon as next month, though police hope to stretch the money through April.
Without more money, fewer detectives will be sifting through the nearly 1,400 sex crime cases known to have evidence dating back to 1981.
That in turn could slow Jackson County prosecutors, who recently won a $500,000 grant to pay for five people to work with the four police detectives and a sergeant on old sex crimes. And the police crime lab could suffer as well, because it relies on police to prioritize cases to analyze.
Read the complete story at kansascity.com