ONE MILLION BUCKS Might Not Solve Worsening Kansas City Small Biz Crime Spree

Local merchants want assurances and so far city hall cash allocations haven't seemed to convince so many those of us operating at street level.

Here's the word . .  .

Mayor Quinton Lucas is the sponsor of the new $1 million ordinance that businesses, community improvement districts, homeowner associations – basically any entity in the city that can apply for in off duty officer security.

“This ordinance wasn’t desiring to solve every issue.There are going to be real police deployment issues, there are real recruitment issues, and those are things that we’re going to need to make sure that we address,” Lucas said.

Matt Abbott owns more than 40 properties in the Crossroads. He’d like to see additional technology used throughout the city like facial recognition software and licence plate readers to track these bad actors as they move through the city.

He spoke to the finance and public safety committee and expressed his concerns that $1 million will likely not make that big of an impact citywide.

“I think we need 10 times, 30 times (that amount). That’s just a drop in the bucket and I think it needs to be spent very wisely and focused,” Abbott said. “If you spread out $1,000,000 over the city, that’s not going to accomplish anything. You really need to focus on a concentrated area and see success, and learn from that money, and then learn how to grow from there.”

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

'That's just a drop in the bucket': Business owners worry crime fund solve crime wave

Kansas City leaders propose new ordinance to help fund extra security

Kansas City leaders are proposing $1 million to fund extra security, specifically better staffing busier areas like entertainment districts.

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