Sedgwick County sheriff highlights gun‑safety locks and launches 'Citizen Connect' crime dashboard

Brandon Stitt, public information officer for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, told the Board of County Commissioners on April 16 that the office is distributing free gun‑safety locks and has launched a public online dashboard called Citizen Connect.

Stitt said the locks were provided by Wesley Children’s Hospital and a VA facility, and that deputies also carry them and can hand them out in neighborhoods. “These are absolutely heartbreaking incidents and they happened in the city of Wichita,” Stitt said, describing recent shootings involving children. “These tragedies are 100% preventable. We are doing our part at the sheriff’s office and Wichita Police Department in cooperation with Wesley Children’s Hospital.”

The Sheriff’s Office began distributing an initial supply of locks that Wesley Children’s Hospital provided, Stitt said, and the VA donated additional locks after a supply ran out in the jail lobby. He said employees at the county administration building have asked for locks and been provided them.

Stitt emphasized that locks are only one step in safe firearm storage and that responsible gun owners should take multiple precautions. Commissioner Howell, who identified himself as a member of the board of the Kansas State Rifle Association during the meeting, pressed for details about usage and whether locks apply only to handguns. Stitt replied that the specific devices are designed for handguns but could be used with other firearms depending on the weapon and that, in general, a firearm should be unloaded and magazines removed before applying a lock.

Stitt also outlined Citizen Connect, a new public dashboard drawing data from the sheriff’s Tyler RMS records management system and a new computer-aided dispatch system used by emergency communications. “It allows you to explore crime trends, search active cases and view crash data in real time,” he said, and added that several municipal agencies within Sedgwick County participate by sharing their data when they choose to. Participating jurisdictions include Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville, Kechi, Maize, Park City, Valley Center and Eastborough (the latter shares crash data). Stitt said Wichita uses a different vendor (LexisNexis) and does not feed data directly into Citizen Connect.

Commissioners asked about technical access and compatibility; Stitt said an Apple‑specific error can be worked around by following the posted link at sedgwickcounty.org/sheriff/citizenconnect. He said a tutorial PowerPoint is available for the public and the tool includes trend mapping and zoom functions. The sheriff’s office plans outreach so residents know they can request a lock from a deputy or pick one up at the jail lobby while supplies last.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the announcements, which were provided as part of staff communications at the start of the meeting.