By Michael Bushnell
Northeast News

The significant rise in violent crime from 2016 to 2017 in Kansas City’s Northeast community has not gone unnoticed by community leaders and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

To that end, East Patrol’s Community Room was packed with neighborhood leaders from Northeast and key personnel from the police department on the evening of Wednesday, January 24 to address the community’s top concerns and discuss how the Police Department can effectively work with area neighborhoods to permanently address the startling increase in violent crime.

KCPD data indicates that there have been 31 homicides committed in the Historic Northeast since 2016 – eight in Indian Mound, seven in Lykins, six in Pendleton Heights, four in Scarritt Renaissance, four in Sheffield, and four in Independence Plaza. The data also shows that 496 aggravated assaults have occurred in the Northeast since 2016 – 157 in Lykins, 128 in Indian Mound, 79 in Scarritt Renaissance, 56 in Pendleton Heights, 47 in Independence Plaza, and 29 in Sheffield.

Among the top concerns with the 12 community leaders present at the Jan. 24 meeting was the persistent sound of gunshots ringing through the neighborhoods.

“Daily, random gunfire, and we know who it is,” said Jessie Mathews-Johnson, the Pendleton Heights Crime and Security Chair. “It’s all times of day, all calibers, and within the last week two residences have been struck.”

Representatives from Indian Mound, Independence Plaza, Lykins and Scarritt Renaissance echoed Johnson’s sentiments, noting the almost daily posts to area social media sites spotlighting gunfire and its approximate locations.

Captain Chris Young, who recently moved to East Patrol from the NOVA Unit, noted the importance of locating shell casings after these events in order to have them analyzed to see if the weapon that fired the shots was used in the commission of a crime in another area of the city.

“If you can get those casings safely, then by all means we’d love to have them to trace them out,” said Young.

Community attendees also brought up street-level crime that’s prevalent in specific areas along commercial corridors, specifically “the wall” near the BP station at Independence and Maple Boulevards and the newly remodeled liquor store at 9th street and Prospect. Northeast Chamber of Commerce President Bobbi Baker-Hughes pledged support for the operation, inviting officers to the Chamber offices to review the extensive picture archive of offenders along Independence Avenue compiled by Titan Security Officers. Those photos are typically taken whenever a subject is detained for arrest.

Major Jim Thomas, East patrol’s Commander, was quick to praise the community for their ongoing involvement in addressing the violent crime uptick. Thomas committed the department’s Violent Crime Enforcement Division to the Northeast to address the violence that has gripped the area over the past two years.

“We’re looking to drastically increase our presence in the city’s Northeast area,” said Thomas. “What that looks like and how that hits the streets will largely be determined by what is discussed tonight.”

Captain Young indicated that a similar operation in another part of the city essentially shut down the criminal element upon its conclusion.

Details on the program are still being finalized and meetings with individual neighborhood organizations will occur prior to the program’s rollout. The Northeast News will continue to follow this story and offer updates as they occur.