KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
A five-block stretch in Kansas City, Missouri, has become a crime hotspot and now, neighbors are changing their tactics.
Just last week, KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas and KCPD Chief Stacey Graves walked through the Linwood shopping center near 31st and Prospect.
“I was a city councilman when we put $20 million into this project of city revenue,” said Mayor Lucas. “We’re not trying to have it fail after five years. Just straight up, that’s a basic. Nobody wants to walk by a shuttered shopping center that we just put all this money in. It makes us look like fools.”
On Friday, they brought solutions straight to neighbors and KSHB 41 News Reporter Megan Abundis talked with those who live and work in the area.
They opened up about the crimes they've seen and what they want moving forward.
From the east Kansas City Morning Star Community Center, a seat at the table was given to anyone who wanted one.
So many people arrived that they had to pull out more chairs.
“Sustainable change in our community,” said Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater KC.
Police, prosecutors, city council members, neighborhood leaders, store employees, and people who live in the area all focused on changing five blocks.
“Public safety crisis we are experiencing at 31st and Prospect extending to 27th and Prospect,” said Grant.
It’s where the Linwood Square Shopping Center is, as well as the Sun Fresh Grocery store, and the bus stop. But lately, the group sees nothing but crime, violence, trespassing, prostitution, and drugs.
Keysha Bostick drives through the area twice a day and she says she sees it all.
“A lot of people hanging out, drinking, drugging, having sex, going to sleep,” she said.
For weeks the group has added tactics on how to get the area under control.
“We’re all going to play a role in solving this problem,” said Grant. “We have strong neighborhood organization in his community, and we want to have a very positive and collaborative impact response to this problem.”
“I want to see some changes, and when I see the police policing and doing the security at that store, that’s change,” said GG Owens, of JE Dunn Construction.
KCPD says that looks like approving overtime to dedicated supervision.
“A two-person crew 24 hours, 7 days a week,” said Chief Graves. “The arrests that are made on property will be transported to the metro patrol division.”
Last week, KCPD said there were 13 arrests on the corner, and Graves gave an example that in just one hour—there were six arrests for crimes cited like trespassing, stolen cars, drugs, assault, and disorderly conduct.
Many questions from the group focused on how long those arrested will be held in custody.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office says they’re looking at adding state-level charges specific to this parking lot to make detention holding more impactful.
So, they’re considering adding signage on the lot, stating that you could not bring a gun into the grocery store or a business. That would essentially add a Class B Misdemeanor: trespassing charge.
“It’s a B misdemeanor it’s not a crime that regularly holds someone in custody but it causes a disruption,” said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dion Sankar.
They say there have also been issues of retaliation when someone reports a crime. The prosecutor’s office says they could add on tampering with a victim or a witness charge.
They believe these considerations could work towards holding people in custody.
“We have been in communication with our courts,” said Sankar. “We’ve told them we are going to request these bonds because we are determining that this specific area is a priority in the criminal justice system and the fallout and spread of rime here is an issue we need to stop right now.”
“I care about people who help create change, if this meeting doesn’t bring change today they will be very disappointed this weekend and all the days that come behind it,” said Owens.
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