Recently, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department’s interaction with immigrants has come into question. Below is a great example of how KCPD handles crime issues, including those involving immigrant victims. We want to reassure the public that immigrant victims get the same standard of service that anyone else in Kansas City would receive.
We are working to stop a pattern of armed robberies in which the suspects told the victims – mostly older Latino males – not to report the crimes to police because they said officers would call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to have them deported. Not only is that patently false, but the victims’ fear allowed the perpetrators to continue to victimize more and more people. This pattern of crimes started with four or five armed robberies in 2018 and resumed in May of this year, with another four to five cases linked so far.
Police arrested one of the three primary suspects Aug. 20, and he was charged with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of armed criminal action. We anticipate arrests and charges on the other two soon.
As I have said before, KCPD does not enforce immigration laws and never inquires about a victim’s or witness’s documentation. It’s irrelevant to our duty. We would not have known about these crimes were it not for the relationship one of our social service workers built with Hope City, a house of prayer and community center at 24th and Quincy. Crime had escalated around the center earlier this year, so the East Patrol social service worker and a captain began going to Hope City every morning to see what they could do and introduce themselves to staff and volunteers. The initially chilly reception from clients changed when they found out KCPD was there to help. The social service worker helped one woman get a prosthetic leg, giving her the ability to walk again. She got another woman with cancer into medical treatment. She worked with another man to get his identification documentation, and that allowed him to get a job. Crime issues surrounding the area have dropped significantly since KCPD intervention.
The clients talked among themselves, however, about how they had been robbed at gunpoint by three men while they waited in line at Hope City to receive a free meal. The suspects shot one of the victims in the leg last week. But the victims of the prior robberies did not go to police because the suspects had convinced them they would be deported if they did so. That is what made these crimes so heinous to me: not only did the suspects threaten the lives of people to take their meager possessions; they took away the victims’ chance for justice and protection. The suspects knew this would allow them to continue to prey on the immigrant community. The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will not tolerate those actions.
Fortunately, one of the staff members at Hope City told our social service worker what he’d heard about these crimes from clients. That gave police the chance to investigate these cases and stop the suspects who were hurting so many vulnerable individuals. We don’t care where you’re from or how you got here because it is our duty to protect and serve EVERYONE in Kansas City. The Spanish-speaking captain of the Robbery Unit has reached out to many victims to encourage them to participate in the investigation.
These crimes and the fear they incited of KCPD among immigrants started occurring long before the viral video of KCPD responding to ICE’s request for assistance during an arrest. Since that video, we have spent a great deal of time out in communities assuring residents that nothing has changed with KCPD’s approach to immigration. We do not ask about it and have no intention to start.
In addition to our many community meetings, some of our Spanish-speaking officers will soon be going onto local Spanish-language radio stations to explain KCPD’s policy and practice regarding immigration. A community that does not trust police is vulnerable to violent crime. What happened to the victims of the armed robbers at 24th and Quincy is the worst-case scenario of that. We don’t ever want that to happen again.
As we look for solutions to the stubborn violent crime problem in Kansas City, members of our department are trying several innovative approaches. Here are just some of the new things we’re working on to address violent crime:
- The Crime Gun Intelligence Center launched last fall. It’s a partnership with the ATF to forensically link guns to crimes to suspects. We have acquired new technology and staff at our Crime Lab to assist with this effort, thanks to grant funding.
- Risk Terrain Modeling looks at environmental factors that can lead to violent crime (e.g. liquor stores, bus stops, vacant buildings) so police and the city can proactively address any issues to make the environment less desirable to criminals.
- We have worked with our partners and the U.S. Department of Justice to refocus the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA) to individuals instead of groups. This will put the emphasis on prolific violent offenders and has been successful in other major cities.
- On June 21, the reward money available for anonymous information leading to the arrest of a Kansas City, Missouri, homicide suspect through Greater Kansas City Stoppers went up to $25,000. Two tipsters have now earned that reward. The first person got paid Aug. 7.
- We do extensive work with youth on conflict resolution and mentorship through initiatives like Youth Police Academy, Teens in Transition, Youth Police Initiative, Police Athletic League, School Resource Officers trained in conflict resolution, and the upcoming revamp of the Police Explorers program.
- We have implemented social service workers at every patrol division station to address needs that residents might otherwise try to meet through criminal activity.
KCPD is doing much to tackle violent crime, yet the violent crime issue persists. In the wake of numerous acts of violence in our city and nationwide, there is something else that must be considered that is beyond the scope of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department: We must ask whether public policy can make a difference in public safety?
First, consider this 2018 list from USA Today of the 25 most dangerous cities in the U.S., based on violent crime data law enforcement agencies submit to the FBI. Springfield, Mo., is ranked No. 12; Kansas City, Mo., is ranked No. 5; and St. Louis, Mo., is ranked No. 1. Out of all 50 states, Missouri has three cities ranked in the top 12. What does that say about the policies of our state?
If you want to hunt an animal in Missouri, you must attend a hunter’s safety education course and obtain a license. All of that is required to use a gun around wild animals, but recent state legislation has removed any requirements on carrying or using a gun around people. Now anyone 19 or older can legally carry a concealed weapon with no training in Missouri. Doesn’t it make sense for those who want to carry guns around people to do so with proper training?
The common refrain that usually accompanies calls for any kind of gun regulation is, “They want to take our guns away.” The Kansas City Missouri Police Department has no interest whatsoever in taking guns away that are legally possessed by residents. The law that applies to carrying a firearm for hunting – training and permitting requirements – is the same kind of law that should be used for possessing firearms, period. Law enforcement officers in Missouri currently have limited tools to prevent violence from occurring by taking guns out of the hands of those who want to harm others.
Since Jan. 1, 2008, a total of 1,346 people in Kansas City, Mo., have been murdered, the vast majority by firearms. That is a horrific loss of life in one decade. Imagine if we had a single incident with that many people killed at once in Kansas City. What would the reactions be? Would there be calls for some kind of immediate policy change so that could never happen again?
Public policy can provide law enforcement with more tools to combat violent crime, such as an effective corrections system, stricter laws, and grants/funding for more officers and equipment. Regardless of the gun laws, of which there are currently many, they are ineffective without a certainty of punishment. Certainty of punishment is more important than severity in the prevention of gun violence.
As I outlined at the beginning of this blog, the members of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department are doing everything in our power to curb violent crime. But those in the halls of the legislature can affect public safety – for good or bad – at a much broader level. Something has to change. We hope the frustration our community is feeling about violent crime will turn into the action that is needed to change public policy to protect the people of Kansas City.
