Kansas City mayor addresses concerns on ‘doxing’ of police

‘Doxing’ may become a crime in Kansas City, Mayor Quinton Lucas saying he plans to take action after learning about the issue which puts law enforcement and their families at risk.

Recent protests and unrest in communities across the U.S. have put law enforcement and their families at an elevated risk of ‘doxing’.

Merriam-Webster defines ‘doxing’ as, “publicly identifying or publishing private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge.”

Essentially, ‘doxing’ is when someone researches and publishes another individual’s personal contact information and puts it online.

In the case of law enforcement, it puts officers and their families at risk of harm.

After a conversation with local officers’ families last weekend, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced this week that he plans to take action on the issue, saying he wants to criminalize ‘doxing’.

“Saturday I met with families of police officers. Among concerns expressed was “doxing” of law enforcement officers’ addresses and contact info, which means sharing personal information with malicious intent. I am introducing an ordinance today to criminalize such actions,” Lucas wrote in a tweet on Thursday.

Lucas included in his tweet an image of an ordinance which read the enactment of one new Section 50-175, which now prohibits behavior considered to be ‘doxing’.

“Our officers and other public employees have a right to get home safely and their families should be safe from harm,” Lucas wrote in a follow-up tweet. “We welcome free expression in Kansas City. We do not welcome intimidation of people doing the jobs we hire them to do or intimidation of their spouses and children.”