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Sheriff's office offers free gun locks and launches Citizen Connect dashboard
Summary
Sedgwick County's sheriff's office announced a gun-safety push offering free gun locks donated by local hospitals and the VA and launched 'Citizen Connect,' a real-time public dashboard of crime and crash data drawn from the county's records system.
Brandon Stitt, the Sedgwick County Sheriff's recently deputized public information officer, told commissioners the office is distributing free gun locks after several recent child-involved gun tragedies in the Wichita area. "Wesley Children's Hospital provided us 175 to 200" locks and "the VA stepped in and provided 200 more," Stitt said, adding distribution points include Wichita Police Department substations and the jail lobby and that deputies carry locks to hand out in neighborhoods.
Stitt also previewed a new public tool, Citizen Connect, built on the county's Tyler RMS and a new CAD feed that offers crime trends, active-case searches and crash reporting in near real time. Nicole Gibbs of Strategic Communications said the dashboard is available at sedgwickcounty.org/sheriff/citizenconnect and noted partner cities that opted in (Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville, Hays, Park City and Valley Center). Commissioners asked whether Wichita data appear; Stitt said Wichita uses a different records-management vendor (LexisNexis/Niche) and is not currently integrated. "It's a very easy tool," Stitt said, and staff has produced a tutorial for residents.
The announcement included a broader public-safety reminder: Gibbs also highlighted an upgraded property-fraud alert service from the Register of Deeds and advised residents the county remains under a state burn ban (open burning prohibited) for two more weeks.
