‘It takes all of us.’ Lucas tours KC neighborhood to seek input on crime initiative
Residents in a northeast Kansas City neighborhood gathered at an abandoned home Thursday night before taking a walk with Mayor Quinton Lucas to discuss their concerns and point out things they’re doing to reduce crime near their homes.
Lucas invited reporters to join him on a walk through the Lykins neighborhood near Independence and Spruce avenues.
The walk, a news release said, was the first of many planned events to seek community input on Reform Project KC, a crime prevention strategy his office announced Wednesday alongside the Kansas City Police Department and Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The plan — which has four pillars: prevention, intervention, enforcement and administrative reform — was immediately met with criticism from civil rights groups and activists because community members weren’t consulted.
Thursday’s event, Lucas said, was an effort to get input directly from Kansas City residents on what specific communities need.
“What this whole reform project is about is the idea that it takes all of us, it is not just a policing issue,” Lucas said.
Sustainable reduction in crime, Lucas said, will take input from residents and work for neighborhood improvement and from various city agencies.
“I hope that especially when we’re not in an election time people see that we care, we are committed to listening, we are committed to seeing a safer city and we’re committed to a bottom up approach,” he said.
“The problem with every program we’ve ever had is we create these measures that are far too disconnected from what we can actually improve.”
Neighborhood efforts
During Thursday’s walk, neighborhood association leaders walked Lucas past abandoned homes and a park that they said have become hot spots for crime.
Gregg Lombardi, of the Lykins neighborhood association, told Lucas the neighborhood was attempting to handle these problems on their own. The neighborhood, he said, was filing lawsuits against owners of abandoned properties and working to help the homeless find work and shelter.
He said he hoped these efforts and help from the city would lead to reduced crime and a safer neighborhood.
Despite high crime rates and problems with homeless populations, residents explained to Lucas that they stayed in the neighborhood because it’s what they could afford but also because they were proud of it and wanted to see it improve.
Coral Lopez, 19, said she appreciated the attention Lucas was giving the neighborhood. She is one of the most involved members of the neighborhood association.
“Why should I have to move out from my home when I can contribute and save it,” she said.
Lucas said there are people in every neighborhood committed to improvement, like in Lykins. He said he hopes to connect with those residents across the city to find ways to improve neighborhoods without pushing people out.
The four pillar approach
Under the plan, Lucas and his office would develop prevention strategies with neighborhood and community groups.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office would lead the intervention effort. That approach would have elements of a focus deterrence model and target known criminals with the message: change your behavior or go to jail. In exchange, they would receive help finding jobs and getting an education.
The enforcement portion would be modeled after the Operation LeGend, the federal initiative launched this summer that aimed to get killers off the streets. It was named for 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in Kansas City while sleeping in June.
Administrative reforms, or “trust-building activities,” are the fourth pillar and include removing barriers for returning parolees and getting rid of outdated or potentially discriminatory codes from the city’s ordinance.
“We value you. Your experiences. Your life,” Lucas said Wednesday at a news conference announcing the initiative.
The announcement comes at a time when killings and violent crime have surged in Kansas City. As of Thursday, there have been 150 killings across the city this year, according to data kept by The Star, which includes law enforcement shootings. By this time last year, there had been 115 homicides.
The Star’s Glenn E. Rice contributed to this story.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 8:52 PM.
