PRESS RELEASE:
The Metro Patrol Property Crimes Task Force has made a significant dent in the city’s theft problem, reducing burglaries and auto thefts by 25 percent in a three-month period.
The task force started on December 7, 2008, to combat a growing burglary problem in Metro Patrol and other parts of the city. About eight or nine burglary patterns were active at the time, in neighborhoods from Hickman Mills to Brookside, Blue Hills to Loose Park. The task force took six Metro Patrol officers – two from each of KCPD’s three shifts – and put them on special assignment to partner with the Metro Property Crimes detectives for 28 days.
The task force was only supposed to last through the holiday season, but it was continued because of its positive results. Officers now rotate their time on the task force, serving 28 days with property crime detectives and then going back out in the field.
Through March 20, the task force has arrested 60 suspects on felony charges. This cleared 72 felony warrants and 26 city charges. Up to a fourth of those arrested are known gang affiliates. One had information on three of the city’s unsolved homicides.
Recoveries made by the Metro Patrol Property Crimes Task Force from Dec. 7 to March 20 include 22 stolen vehicles and 16 stolen firearms, as well as dozens of televisions, video game systems and other property. In the course of their work, task force officers also arrested eight people for narcotics offenses and stopped two burglaries in progress.
The task force isn’t finished yet. They will continue their work as long as they have the resources to do so. They have identified multiple people possibly connected with multiple burglary patterns that they will continue to pursue.
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