Northeast News

Leslie Caplan

Tuesday, March 19, Northeast resident Leslie Caplan was presented a Certificate of Appreciation award by Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith, recognizing Caplan for the countless hours of work and numerous accomplishments in the Historic Northeast.

Caplan served as President of Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association from January 2011 to January 2012, and worked closely with Kansas City Police to improve conditions in the community.

“If every Kansas City neighborhood had a Leslie Caplan, there might not be much need for the police,” said Kansas City Police Community Interaction Officer Coordinator Jason Cooley in a letter read during the ceremony.

Caplan said her worked in the community is fueled by a passion to help others.

“I think I have a soft spot for helping others,” she said. “The other thing is, I want to live in peace. I don’t want to worry about crime; I want to be able to take my dog for a walk; I want my neighbors to have those same things. I don’t want anyone to have to move out because they are afraid. I want us to all just be able to live in the place that we call home and that we want to call home for the rest of our lives without constantly worrying about if that person is going to rob me or if my child going to see that prostitution going on.”

Caplan has spent time building lasting, working relationships with Kansas City Police officers.

“Leslie is my go-to neighborhood person about how neighborhoods and police departments can work together to make a stronger neighborhood,” said Chief Rick Smith.

Caplan said her work in the community got started by participating in block watch training and learning about humanity improvements through environmental design.

That’s how we started, just baby steps. Then, Rick Smith, became the Major, and when he became major, lots of stuff really started happening in the neighborhood and we built an even closer relationship with the police. I think they recognized that we were committed to making changes and so they put a lot of time and resources.”

When asked what the key is to building these strong relationships with law enforcement and among neighbors, Caplan said it is understanding who your core group of volunteers are, and

“It started with just two people being committed to understanding that something has to change and it expanded from there, so really, it’s not tons of people who have been actively engaged, it’s knowing who to call on and it’s knowing that you even have a small core of hearty volunteers that are willing to do whatever it takes. That’s the key.”

Caplan also discussed her experience with what is required to make lasting change in a community.

“You have to be willing to commit time and effort to it,” she said. “You can’t sit back at home and complain about it on social media. You have to get in the car with someone while one of you drives and other person writes down addresses of codes issues or dumping issues, and you have to have someone who is willing to be the point person for crime issues.”

On tackling crime, Caplan said it starts with the neighborhoods.

“The police all want to do something [about crime], but what we need to be doing, in my opinion, is reaching out to the neighborhoods. The neighborhoods have to commit to not wanting homicides and they have to be willing to do more than just say ‘we don’t want anyone else murdered in our neighborhood,’ they have to get up off the couch and start doing something, whether it’s having a picnic in the park, having a chili dinner, or building a playground. It can be any number of small or large projects that say to criminals, we are taking back the neighborhood.”

Scarritt Renaissance currently does not have a President, but Caplan said she is not opposed to stepping in if needed. She said she is going to take time to focus on renovating a home she recently purchased, and wants to give someone else the chance to step up and lead.

“I felt like I had done it for a long time and I felt like it was time for someone else to step up and lead the neighborhood. The neighborhood can’t depend on just one person always being there. It doesn’t mean I’m going away or wouldn’t step back in if need be, but for now, it is nice to have a break.

Thank you for your contribution to the community, Leslie!