Facing a shortage of hundreds of police officers, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has a new plan to fight crime: ask the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Jackson County Sheriff for help patrolling the city.
“How do we make sure — in a world where we can't hire 300 police officers tomorrow — how do we make sure that we have enough bodies on the streets to address these issues?” Lucas told KCUR.
And he’s prepared for the city to pick up the bill if the Kansas City Police Department refuses.
KCPD is a state-controlled police force, and Kansas City is the only major U.S. city that does not have local control of its police department. So the department would have to voluntarily adopt any plan from the mayor’s office.
In the last few weeks, City Manager Brian Platt has met with Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte to discuss hiring off-duty deputies.
“We’ve had discussions about hiring deputies for secondary employment to assist KCPD in areas where increased support is desired,” Forte said.
It would work the same way the Kansas City Royals, Chiefs or any other private company hire deputies for security: the city or KCPD would pay deputies at a prescribed rate. Currently, deputies are hired at $38 an hour, according to the sheriff's office website. Supervisors, such as sergeants or captains, cost more.
But who would pay for those deputies?
“My first pitch to KCPD was that they have extra money in their budget they never use, and they said, ‘No,’” City Manager Brian Platt told KCUR.
Platt says the city desperately needs extra officers, so the city may pick up the tab.
“We don’t have time to wait,” Platt said.
KCPD did not comment on who would pay for the deputies but said Chief Stacy Graves and Forte have regular discussions and the two agencies have a long history of working together.
“Whether it be at a Super Bowl parade, or coordinated crime reduction efforts, as seen recently when Jackson County Sheriff's Deputies worked alongside KCPD in the 31st and Prospect area,” Capt. Jake Becchina, a KCPD spokesman said in a statement.
Lucas said he also feels the urgency and said he will ask Governor-elect Mike Kehoe for assistance from the MSHP after he is inaugurated in January. He says MSHP has a record of helping cities that need additional patrols.
“We have seen it done in other cities and states throughout our country,” Lucas said.
In 2017 and 2019, MSHP troopers came into St. Louis city to patrol highways to allow city police to concentrate on high crime areas. Lucas pointed to Oakland, where California Gov. Gavin Newsom said a surge of Highway Patrol troopers is responsible for a 57% increase in arrests since February.
“I think we need to look at every option available to making Kansas City safer,” Lucas told KCUR.
Lucas suggests the highway patrol could be particularly helpful in helping reduce Kansas City’s increasing stolen auto problem. Through August, the city saw a seven percent hike in auto theft compared to last year. A relatively new problem is the theft of high-performance Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler products. Those cars are used to build sideshow and street racing vehicles. Property crime overall, however, is down three percent from a year ago, according to KCPD data.
In the statement from KCPD, Becchina said the department gets along well with the highway patrol, although he did not address the mayor’s plan directly.
“We also have a great working relationship with the MSHP and collaborate on many projects and operations throughout the year,” Becchina said.
But the plan appears to be in very early stages. KCPD did not weigh in on Lucas’ idea and the highway patrol so far has not been in talks with the city.
The Department of Public Safety, which oversees MSHP, had little to say. DPS spokesperson Mike O’Connell wrote this in an email to KCUR: “No one from KC has reached out about any plan (or anything else).”
