Kansas City police and community leaders are using funding from a federal grant to fight crime in the Prospect corridor.
Police reported progress on the effort today to the council public safety committee.
Since the start of the year, police, prosecutors and community leaders have gone to some homes to speak to those at risk of committing violence or suffering from it.
“We let them know we want to keep them alive and out of prison,” said Det. Brad Bailey.
They also offer them social services and other help to escape lives of crime, he said, like the focused deterrence model used by the No Violence Alliance.
Police also discourage any acts or retaliation and encourage conflict resolution and mediation to resolve disputes, Bailey said.
They have more examples to use since their start in January, he said. “Some people have ignored this message and have become victims of violent crimes, including homicide.”
The corridor area from 25th to 39th streets and Paseo to Indiana has .5 percent of the city population, Dailey said, but over the last decade has had from 4 to 11 percent of the city’s homicides.
Ed Linnebur, of the Greater Kansas City Local Initiatives Support Corporation, said he has also been working with seven neighborhoods and with faith groups and businesses in the corridor area.
Dealing with vacant properties is among their top priorities, he said. They meet monthly and are now focused on cleaning up vacant lots and boarding up dangerous buildings at 27th and Prospect, he said.
“I want everyone to know we’re working on this,” he said. “We’re working together.”
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