By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
October 19, 2011

City Council members on the Public Safety and Emergency Services Committee are brainstorming ideas to address their top three priorities.

Earlier in May, city council members asked the committee to focus on three areas: reducing crime and homicide rates; improving ambulance response times; and connecting police officers with the community and neighborhoods.

During a recent meeting, the committee discussed ideas.

Committee member Jermaine Reed suggested allotting more money to the weed abatement and dangerous buildings fund. Both weeds and abandoned or vacant buildings can harbor criminals and become a prime spot to hide dead bodies, he said. Reed commended the city’s idea of installing video cameras in areas where residents illegally dump trash.

Although weed abatement and dangerous buildings are important, it’s difficult to find additional funding, Committee member Scott Taylor said.

Committee member Michael Brooks stressed that the city and community organizations need to coordinate on activities for youth and pool their resources. A number of organizations like FCA offer after-school activities, he said.

However, education must also be provided for the parents, he said. There’s a lack of parental guidance and involvement in children’s lives and providing a support system and parenting skills’ resources for parents would be beneficial, he said.

Other ideas to address crime included connecting with the business community and encouraging them to donate to programs like Kansas City’s Gun Bounty Program and to city community centers which currently offer extended hours for youth, and committee members consulting Darryl Fort, the new police chief.

“I do think this (crime) is probably the most important goal the city has,” Committee member John Sharp said. “We cannot continue to attract and retain residents and businesses with the crime rates we have, particularly the homicides and drive by shootings.”

Brooks added that Kansas Citians must hold each other accountable, report crimes and cooperate with police.

“All of us citizens have a responsibility,” Brooks said. “It doesn’t serve any of us well when we allow things like that to go on.”

In terms of ambulance response times, Sharp said it’s a continuing priority. He suggested the city manager provide emergency service reports on a quarterly basis to the committee.

Now that the city uses a computer aided dispatching system and radio system, it will be easier to gather reports, he said.

Kansas City must continue to pursue mutual aid agreements with fire departments like the Liberty Fire Department and Grandview Fire Department, he said.

Committee members also requested a map detailing the number of emergencies and emergency response times in each part of the city.

Sharp said the committee will continue to discuss ideas and narrow them down at a future meeting.