KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Tuesday, Kansas City, Missouri, recorded its 172 murder of 2023, outpacing the murder rate from November 2020, which was the deadliest year yet for the city.
In south KCMO, homicides are actually down.
KCPD says so far there have been 10, compared to 16 in 2022; police say it's due to proactive efforts and hindering retaliation.
But neighbors in south KCMO have been paying attention to all types of crime in the area, where plenty of homes, apartments and businesses are located.
On Tuesday, at the Trailside Center in south KCMO, the center’s planning and development council held its monthly meeting.
In these meetings, the council has heard about the crime and how police try to stop it, but now they want to see the accountability.
“We want to know what’s happening to them after they are caught,” said Stacey Johnson-Cosby, vice president of Center Planning and Development Council.
At the meeting, Johnson-Cosby talked about some of the crimes plaguing the area.
"There’s been rashes of car break-ins and apartment building break-ins as well, and a large population of those that are homeless," she said. "And what we are finding is, those who live in that community may be committing crimes in our businesses and on the trail."
On Tuesday night, those in south KCMO had the ear of Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker.
Peters Baker talked about the outcomes of her office's homicide cases and how, in recent years, her office found success in convictions and incarceration sentences, as well as the huge number of non-fatal shootings she’s researched in the county.
People KSHB 41 spoke with are concerned about crimes in businesses and on a nearby trail; they feel like criminals think they can get away with breaking the law.
One person asked, “What are you doing to try to convey that if you break into somebody’s house or do what you’re going to do, we are going to prosecute you?
Peters Baker responded, “We really are making all attempts to prosecute people like we always have for the crimes you are talking about. We review it; we file it if the facts and evidence are there."
Peters Baker announced a new program targeting retail theft, an extremely proactive approach where her office is first working with the Country Club Plaza.
The prosecutor’s office will look at surveillance video from Plaza security as quickly as they can get it.
If they see strong evidence of the crime or maybe a future crime, they’ll alert KCPD, essentially reviewing cases before there are cases.
She says they can her goal is to boost clearance and prosecution success.
“View this for what it is — one law enforcement partner, my office, supporting and working to help another partner, the KCPD," she said.
Peters Baker said Target has expressed interest in the program.
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