‘They don’t trust us’: KC leaders announce new anti-crime plan, face community pushback

In response to the city’s dramatic and ongoing surge of violent crime, Mayor Quinton Lucas on Wednesday announced a four-pronged plan that he said would help reverse the trend and build stronger community ties.

Emphasis of the new effort, called Reform Project KC, will focus on prevention, intervention, enforcement and administrative reforms, or “trust-building activities.” Lucas said his plan would seek to unify existing resources, and create new ones, in an effort to reduce shootings and killings.

“We recognize that we can no longer operate in silos, and that we’re taking this conversation directly to the community,” Lucas said. “No more will we simply say that we’re putting money at something. We’re putting tools or resources at something without actually looking at the measurement that we need to do.”

‘They don’t trust our plan.’

Several community and civil rights groups did not attend the mayor’s announcement. They said he created his plan without engaging them, said Justice Horn, a community activist.

“(It’s) Another example of people in power (the Mayor and Chief) creating initiatives for the community and the community not have any part in creating it,” Horn said. “If everyone in the community works on it, then everyone in the community is more willing to get behind it.”

At the press conference, Lucas said several community groups were part of the framework-building process that met biweekly for nearly a year to put together the framework.

Henry Service, who helped organize demonstrations held at the Country Club Plaza to protest systemic racism and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, said he welcomed any effort to reduce crime but was skeptical about the mayor’s approach.

“This is silly, they want to look like they’re doing something,” Service said. “So then they roll up to the initiative and give it some great sounding names to make it sound like we’re trying to attack a problem.

“But you’re not going to attack crime, unless you first attacked the educational system, you’re not going to attack crime unless you first attack the the circumstances under which crime is produced: poverty, housing, mental health. That’s how you attack crime. And it’s not just pie in the sky stuff,” he said.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said the reason groups, including the NAACP and Urban League of the Greater Kansas City did not attend the mayor’s announcement is because “they don’t trust us.”

“They don’t trust our plan. And they don’t trust the players that are part of it,” she said at the news conference in front of City Hall Wednesday. “It’s the job of all of us, anyone that holds a government office, it’s our job to engage them, but in a real way. They must have a leadership role.”

Lucas acknowledged that some groups are not a part of his initiative but he remains committed to reducing the city’s surge of violence.

“I was born here. I’m too used to us talking about murder records all the time,” he said. “It’s been a news story most of my life, when I was a little kid, now that I’m mayor, everything in between. We are working with you, we will work with anybody to address violent crimes issues.”

“And working together, I have every belief in our community that we can improve these issues,” Lucas said.

The mayor and Baker were joined by Police Chief Rick Smith, other local leaders and city council members.

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 the news conference.

Surge of violent crime

The announcement comes at a time when killings and violent crime has surged in Kansas City. As of Wednesday, 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.

At the news conference, Chief Rick Smith said the police department has several initiatives to combat violence crime. Among them is the shoot review group that examines every shooting to look at trends and repeated offenders.

“But to those who are committing the violence, those who are actively shooting in our city, our police department is engaged and we know who you are,” he said. “And we are working tirelessly to make sure that you don’t commit more violence in this city.

Baker said that funding for social workers and community advocates is essential in addressing the city’s violent crime problem. She added that attention and services are needed for those families directly affected by violence.

“Violence in Kansas City is a public health epidemic,” she said. “It’s the pandemic with a gun. We cannot arrest our way out of this. We cannot do it. It’s been tried.”

The announcement Wednesday is the second time Lucas has sought to address the city’s violent crime program. In May, Lucas appointed five persons to serve as members to a new Public Safety Study Group.

Among other responsibilities, the study group was tasked with examining the feasibility of local control of the police department, devise ideas to reduce homicides and gun violence and discuss how to build better relations between police and the community.

Lucas had set a Sept. 30 deadline for the study group to present their recommendations to him. At the conference it was extended two weeks.

Then, Lucas said, he would introduce ordinances to the city council or legislative action to the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, of which he is a member.

The group could provide budget recommendations to city staff, examine what other cities are doing to curb violence and possibly suggest staffing changes within the police department. For example, Lucas said the group could propose to shift more officers to investigate homicides and aggravated assaults instead of drug enforcement.

Five years ago, Lucas’s predecessor, Sly James, formed a citizens anti-violence task force that recommended improved coordination of youth and community services, a full-time city staffer assigned to anti-violence efforts, and enhanced engagement and mentoring from civic and business leaders.

The city hired a crime prevention coordinator but funding for that position has expired.

The city will host three town hall events on the new plan: Oct. 7, Oct. 12 and 20 at 5:30 p.m. and Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, locations have not yet been determined.

The mayor will also participate in a walking tour in Lykins Neighborhood on Oct. 1 at 5:30 p.m.

This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 12:59 PM.