KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. Share your story idea with La’Nita.
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The ongoing conversation continues — how can city leaders address safety concerns throughout the community?
That question was posed at a Friday round table discussion on public safety.
The event was hosted by Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas and the city council.
It brought together city community improvement district (CID) leaders, city leaders, and law enforcement to discuss recent public safety concerns and brainstorm ways the city can better use CID resources to fill public safety gaps.
"We’ve really had a lot of efforts spent on just trying to get the right people around the table to coordinate on our safety and security efforts," said Kevin Klinkenberg, executive director for Midtown KC Now.
Midtown KC Now is an economic development agency.
With Midtown being a recent hot-spot for property crime and violence, they are one of the areas stepping up their safety measures with a team that acts as community watchdogs.
"From our staff that are sort of out in the street as our eyes and ears," Klinkenberg said. "They’re not cops, but they can kind of be like a first alert system to issues."
It’s one of the ways CIDs around the city are working to assist law enforcement both on the front lines and behind the scenes.
They use privately-owned security cameras to monitor certain neighborhoods.
"We monitor cameras in midtown and coordinate with KCPD," Klinkenberg said. "And then we also, through our various programs, help collect evidence to try to prosecute people who need to be prosecuted."
Addressing housing issues, mental health resources, and harm reduction were also discussed.
Lucas stressed the importance of having solution-based spaces.
"I do want to make sure that when we’re talking safety, we have the chance to talk pure public safety issues," Lucas said. "Our multidisciplinary public safety task force, we've got KCPD, we’ve got regulated industry, we have code enforcement neighborhoods, we have the health department; I think there’s very good work with that. I think probably bringing the CIDs on board will be helpful long-term."
Hiring more officers to patrol the streets will also be helpful.
KCPD Chief Stacey Graves says that’s something the community can expect to see soon.
"From here on, we should be producing more positive numbers as it relates to officers coming to the Kansas City Police Department," Graves said.
Graves also believes the help of the CIDs has led to progress in reducing crime and harm.
"Their harm reduction person that they have is really getting down there," Graves said. "It’s a person that has lived experience — that’s obviously something that people who are in those spaces can relate to, obviously, maybe even convinced to finally get services and change the trajectory if their life. So, that is something that we will absolutely support."
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