By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
August 31, 2011

Violent crimes aren’t limited to youth in Kansas City. It’s an issue that spans all ages.

Establishing a stricter youth curfew is only one piece to the puzzle of solving violent crime, said Danny Rotert, communications director for the Kansas City Mayor’s Office.

However, for now, the curfew is helping, he said.

During the first weekend, no arrests were made or citations issued, he said.

I think a lot of folks took it to heart, Rotert said. If you walked around the Plaza and other districts outlined in the city council’s ordinance, kids without parents just weren’t walking around. So, it worked out pretty well.

Four community centers stayed open late Aug. 19-20 and a number of youth took advantage of the after-hour activities, he said.

Both this fall and going into next summer, having a carrot and stick approach is where we’re at, Rotert said. We want to give positive activities for kids and we also want to make sure those kids are safe, whether they’re at the community centers or in their own neighborhood.

With one piece of the puzzle laid out, the city will soon announce other initiatives to stave off violent crime, he said.

City staff have been reviewing case studies from across the U.S., looking for ideas to implement in Kansas City.

We’re not the only city who’s dealing with violent crime issues, he said.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James is also interested in re-establishing the Kansas City Gun Experiment, which was launched in the 1990s but fell by the wayside, Rotert said.

The Kansas City Gun Experiment used targeted police intervention in selected areas of Kansas City to aggressively enforce gun laws, which resulted in a dramatic decrease in gun related crime.

According to the National Institute of Justice, the program tested the theory that it’s not the number of guns in circulation that increases violence, but the carrying of guns in high risk places at high risk times. It also assumed that if police confiscated illegal guns, it would deter those criminals from carrying guns in that area.

To study the success of the program, one target beat in the Central Patrol Division and a similar control beat in the Metro Patrol Division were used.

During the 29-week program, gun related crimes in the target area decreased by 49 percent and driveby shootings also decreased. In comparison, driveby shootings doubled in the comparison area in Metro Patrol. Before and after surveys were given to citizens in the target and control areas. Surveys indicated that those in the target area had become less apprehensive about crime and felt more positive about their neighborhood than those in the control area. In addition, the target area experienced 83 fewer gun related crimes.

It’s (Kansas City Gun Experiment) part of the package, but again, there is no one single thing that can be done, Rotert said. It’s going to take a lot of different programs, and frankly, it’s going to take some trial and error on those programs.

The mayor and the city council are focused on trying to find solutions and not continue to have excuses. He’s (James) tired of excuses and I think the community is, too.