Kansas law enforcement groups press for PTSD coverage, database upgrades and juvenile-justice fixes

At a Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice hearing, representatives of the Kansas Sheriffs Association, the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police and the Kansas Peace Officers Association urged legislators to expand workers—comp coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder among first responders, fund a modern replacement for the state—s offender-registration database, and address repeat-offender gaps in the juvenile system.

The associations told the committee that staffing shortages, rising property crime and long waits for state mental-health beds are creating operational strains for local law enforcement and jails. Lieutenant Tim Greenwood, president of the Kansas Peace Officers Association, cited statewide staffing and training numbers: "We have 425 agencies in the state of Kansas, law enforcement agencies, and we have 8,325 officers," and said most agencies are small: "50% have 5 or fewer officers and...70% have 10 or fewer officers." Greenwood and other witnesses urged continued funding for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Easterbrook (identified in testimony as the county sheriff) and other conferees described operational problems tied to an antiquated offender-registration database known in testimony as "ksort." Easterbrook said the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has requested funding to…