District attorney speaks about new additions to SAFE program

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay joined by Lindsey Anderson with the S.A.V.E program came onto the KSNT 27 News Morning show to speak more in-depth about what the program provides for the community.

“S.A.V.E. is a community-based, violence reduction strategy,” Anderson said. “It’s focused at high-risk youth to provide intervention with early strategies to reduce violence in the community.”

They get referrals usually from both law enforcement and school districts on who should be assisted in the program. They started the program about a year-and-a-half ago, and were only serving Topeka Public Schools. But soon, they hope to change that.

“We are expanding over the summer months and into the next school year into all county-district schools,” Anderson said.

Ultimately, they want to reach out and provide coverage to all of northeast Kansas. Kagay said he thought it was important to highlight the large role the community plays in the program, and in the overall safety of our area.

“Law enforcement needs the community to do their jobs,” Kagay said. “Nobody knows where to go, or what to investigate unless someone in the community takes that first step.”

In reference to the 17 homicides this year, Kagay said that the same concepts apply.

“It’s going to take everyone working together, collectively, in the community,” Kagay said. “S.A.V.E is a violence prevention program; We are working upstream with kids who are at risk, giving them help now so they don’t make bad choices later.”

Kagay said that’s just one strategy they are utilizing and that its had promising effects thus far.

For more information on the S.A.V.E program, you can click here.