Officials: Meth addiction fuels growing Kansas crime rates

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas and Wichita-area leaders say that growing methamphetamine addiction is driving up the state’s crime rates and filling jails with individuals who would be better served in treatment centers.

Michelle Church and Junior Chrisman were among dozen arrested during Kansas drug bust in August 2018

State and local officials met with community members at the Wichita Crime Commission’s Sedgwick County Drug Summit on Thursday.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says seven out of 10 inmates at the county jail are struggling with drug addiction. Easter says law enforcement can’t use arrests to solve the problem.

The county sheriff’s deputy Robert Kunze says 11 percent of all charged felony cases his office handles have at least one count of meth possession.

After the panel, Easter said an oversight board and a strategic plan could help slow the growth of meth addiction.