A sister testifying about the loss of her younger sister to homicide. A mother celebrating Drug Court graduation and reconnecting with her children after years of addiction. A young man choosing opportunity over crime.
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson points to these moments as examples of what the people and programs supported by COMBAT funding make possible.
The county’s anti-crime sales tax reaches beyond police investigations and jail cells, supporting efforts to prevent violence, help victims and give people a path to recovery.
On Nov. 3, Jackson County voters will decide whether to continue the quarter-cent tax for another 10 years. Question 1 would maintain the existing rate: 25 cents on a $100 taxable purchase. Without renewal, the tax expires March 31, 2027.
COMBAT stands for Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax. Its approach recognizes that responding to crime also requires preventing violence and helping people recover from addiction.
Born During the Crack Crisis
Voters first approved the tax in November 1989, during the crack cocaine epidemic. County legislators had declared a “violent health epidemic” involving drug abuse and drug-related crime.
According to COMBAT’s history, Jackson County became the first jurisdiction in the nation to approve a dedicated tax confronting that crisis through enforcement, prevention and treatment.
Those social-service components were part of the original design. In 2009, voters expanded its mission to address violent crime whether or not drugs were involved.
Where the Money Goes
The tax generated $33.9 million in 2025 and averaged $31.3 million annually from 2021 through 2025, according to COMBAT’s latest impact report. More than 60% of revenue over those five years was allocated to the justice system.
That support includes Family Court services and Treatment Court, formerly Drug Court, which offers eligible nonviolent offenders closely supervised addiction treatment as an alternative to incarceration. COMBAT also supports pretrial supervision outside jail and Kansas City police crime analysts and laboratory technicians.
The Jackson County Drug Task Force works across city boundaries to investigate drug trafficking and disrupt the networks supplying illegal drugs to local communities. COMBAT provides more than 90% of its operating funding.
The report’s 2025 community-program allocations included approximately $5.35 million for 66 prevention programs, $4.96 million for 23 treatment programs, $1.29 million for eight school-based law enforcement initiatives and $1.96 million for eight STRiVIN’ programs.
Prevention funding supports organizations including Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, ArtsTech, High Aspirations, KC Mothers in Charge, Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council and WeCode KC. Their programs offer victim support, mentoring, safe activities and opportunities that help reduce the risk of violence and substance abuse.
Treatment funding supports programs at organizations including Swope Health’s Imani House, Benilde Hall, Healing House and ReDiscover, helping people address substance use disorders and work toward recovery.
School-based grants must expand beyond the typical Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, curriculum, offering additional prevention education and skills for handling challenges as students grow.
STRiVIN’: Connecting People With Help
STRiVIN’—Striving Together to Reduce Violence in Neighborhoods—is the part of COMBAT that coordinates help for people facing multiple problems.
For example, a family might need housing assistance, counseling for a teenager and addiction treatment for a parent. A designated community organization, called a “hub,” assesses those needs and connects the family with appropriate providers.
The effort began in 2015, using crime data to identify neighborhoods needing additional resources. Its online referral system started in Raytown in 2021 and now operates across all five hub areas. Anyone can make a referral—including residents seeking help for themselves. When referring another person, get their consent first.
The hubs serve these areas:
- Northeast Kansas City: Mattie Rhodes Center.
- Midtown Kansas City: Greater Impact.
- Independence: Community Services League.
- Raytown: Sisters in Christ.
- South Kansas City/Hickman Mills: Bridge Leadership Academy, identified in the 2025 report as the hub agency.
COMBAT recorded 5,338 referrals through 2025, including referrals for shooting survivors and families of homicide victims. Residents can start at jacksoncountycombat.com/referrals or call 816-881-1400 for guidance, including which organization serves their address.
Does Prevention Work?
A recent Council on Criminal Justice assessment found that 91% of participating researchers considered expanded community violence intervention a likely contributor to the national decline in killings.
These efforts work directly with people at greatest risk, helping resolve conflicts and connecting them with support before violence occurs. But results vary by program, and the researchers’ judgments do not prove that one approach caused the decline—or establish COMBAT’s particular effect.
The underlying idea is straightforward: enforce the law while also addressing problems that contribute to violence and addiction.
A yes vote continues the existing tax for 10 years. A no vote allows it to expire in March 2027.
