Kansas City Establishes New Department of Community Safety, Encompassing Corrections, Rehabilitation, Reentry and Violence Prevention

The department is designed to reduce fragmentation in city programs and increase emphasis on prevention and long-term outcomes for residents. | Photo Credit: Department of Community Safety

• Kansas City established a new Department of Community Safety to consolidate prevention, rehabilitation, reentry and accountability efforts. 

• City leaders said the new structure is intended to reduce siloed work and strengthen coordination across the broader public safety ecosystem. 

• Diana Knapp will serve as director, bringing more than three decades of criminal justice experience, including detention operations and behavioral health programs. 
• The department is budgeted for 148 positions, including at least 120 new jobs, and will roll out in phases as the city builds a new detention facility. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Mo., has launched a new Department of Community Safety, a reorganization intended to bring together violence prevention, corrections, rehabilitation and reentry functions under a single umbrella as the city prepares for this week’s opening of its new Jackson County Detention Center. City officials said the department will serve as a coordinating hub across public safety agencies and community partners while maintaining the Kansas City Police Department’s law-enforcement role. 

In a statement, city leaders said the department is designed to reduce fragmentation in city programs and increase emphasis on prevention and long-term outcomes for residents.

“Kansas City has made real progress on public safety, but our efforts have too often operated in silos,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said, adding that the department will unify violence prevention, reentry services and community accountability “to support safer neighborhoods for all of Kansas City,” according to a news release from the City of Kansas City, Missouri. 

City Manager Mario Vasquez framed the change as an effort to link prevention with accountability and rehabilitation across city operations.

“We get better results when prevention, accountability, and rehabilitation work hand in hand,” Vasquez said, calling the department an approach focused on supporting residents and families while building safer neighborhoods, according to a news release from the City of Kansas City, Missouri. 

Diana Knapp will serve as director of the new department. Knapp was previously selected to lead Kansas City’s corrections and rehabilitation efforts and brings more than three decades of experience across the criminal justice system, including leadership roles overseeing detention operations, behavioral health programs and rehabilitation-focused initiatives. 

In outlining the department’s scope, the city said it will oversee reentry and support services such as employment outreach, housing coordination, legal aid and victim services, as well as corrections and rehabilitation operations. Additional responsibilities listed include strengthening and institutionalizing the Multidisciplinary Public Safety Task Force; centralized data tracking, reporting and performance measurement; coordinated follow-up on properties tied to repeated safety concerns; and development of pre-arrest and pre-plea intervention pathways in collaboration with Municipal Court and the City Prosecutor’s Office. 

The department will oversee “safe, secure, and humane custody operations,” including access to medical, mental health and behavioral health services for individuals in custody, and will establish professional standards, training requirements and accountability systems. 

The department is budgeted for 148 positions, with at least 120 new jobs associated with activation. Roles listed include corrections and rehabilitation professionals, community engagement and intervention staff, healthcare and behavioral health personnel, data and analytics specialists, and administrative, fiscal, training and professional standards staff. 

Kansas City said the department will be built in phases, with a joint advisory committee expected to meet quarterly to review prevention, intervention and restorative justice initiatives, while the City Auditor retains responsibility for independent audits. 

This article is based on reporting originally published by the City of Kansas City, Missouri on March 6, 2026.