Private security hired to patrol Kansas City’s River Market. ‘We’ve got to do something.’
Expect to see private security patrolling Kansas City’s River Market, starting at 10 p.m Thursday.
Recognizing there are too few police and too much property crime, the River Market Community Improvement District on Wednesday announced it had contracted with Signal Security, a private company, to provide 24/7 security throughout the historic neighborhood.
Set along the Missouri River, the River Market — formerly called the River Quay, which includes the outdoor City Market — is where settlers disembarked, playing a major role in the founding of the cities of Westport and Kansas City.
“This may sound counter-intuitive, because we have a police force,” said Robert Reiman, a nine-year resident of the the historic district, and chair of security committee of the River Market Community Improvement District. “But they’re short lots of officers right now — 300 or 400.
“They just don’t have the capacity to address the types of crimes that are happening, which are a lot of property crimes. So we decided to turn on our own security program at night.”
Businesses across the Kansas City area have been plagued with break-ins over the last year. River Market eateries that include Donutology, Enzo’s Bistro & Wine Bar, Freestyle Poké, Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, Bo’s Kitchen, Brown & Loe and Cycle City were each targeted in 2024.
The addition of security comes three months after Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves announced the resumption of foot patrols in the market in response to the break-ins.
On Tuesday, at a meeting of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, Deputy Chief Joe Mabin said the KCPD, as of Sunday, Jan 19, would launch a new squad focused on break-ins. Seven officers, he said, would be working late-night shifts to target “hot spots.”
‘Pretty significant uptick’
Reiman said that initial talks among residents and business owners to increase security began last year. A major part of the plan, he said, has been to seek funding from the city to install 28 security cameras within the next year to be monitored by private security officers. That request, he said, is still before the city.
Meanwhile, break-ins citywide have not ceased.
“They’re happening on the West Side. They’re happening in Brookside. They’re happening downtown,” Reiman said. “They’re happening in the Crossroads and they’re happening in the River Market.
“I’d say over the last three or four months there’s been this pretty significant uptick. The safety committee got back together and said, ‘We’ve got to do something right now.’”
Security officers will not carry firearms, Reiman said, although they will possess tasers, mace and other “less-lethal” deterrents.
Beginning Thursday night, three officers will patrol the area from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Two will be in marked vehicles, one on foot-patrol. The security officers will patrol the streets and also will have access to multi-tenant residences, parking garages and parking lots. Other security will take over during the day and evenings.
People in the River Market are encouraged to call (816) 421-5243 day or night, the district said in a release, if they witness suspicious activity, a crime, have a noise complaint, witness disorderly conduct, get locked out of their apartment or need a safety escort to their building or car.
Mark Rowland, director of contracts for the district, said that money for 24/7 security comes from funds pooled by a collective of 13 River Market area property managers, each of whom had hired separate security firms for their own properties. Six different security companies were protecting 30 separate properties, he said.
Now those funds have been pooled, he said, to contract with a single security firm to look after all properties as well as the district as a whole.
“Ultimately, the goal is to reduce crime within the River Market,” Rowland said. “The police will still be a part of this whole process. We’re just going to be able to handle the minor, non-threatening incidents a lot quicker. There’s things that can be prevented, like auto thefts and burglaries.
“This is a better way of solving that problem, rather than counting on the police to do everything from homicides to car crashes.”
