The same day that 25-year-old Keith Q. Wilkins became Kansas City's 63rd homicide victim of 2010, Mayor Mark Funkhouser called for a "police surge" of 100 officers to be included in the public safety sales tax.
Police Chief Jim Corwin disagreed with the Funk's plan. Corwin has his own ideas of how to spend the money, arguing the city should hire 40 more officers in the next few years with permanent city money, not a temporary tax, according to the Star.
So now that the city's leaders are talking about crime, they need to
figure out what they want.
If you have info about Wilkins' death
or saw a dark colored Sedan near 2105 Lexington this morning, call the
TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
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HELLO MY NAME IS TAPETHA WILKINS I AM KIETH WILKINS SISTER I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO Mark Funkhouser MY BROTHER IS NOT JUST A NUMBER HE HAS A FAMILY AND LOVE ONES THAT LOVE HIM JUST LIKE U DO I WAS VAERY MAD WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT HE WAS JUST A NUMBER IF U WOULD NOT LIKE TO TALK TO ME MY EMAIL IS TAPETHAWILKIND@YAHOO.COM THANK U
Unfortuantely, the city leaders aren't talking about crime; they're talking about how to spend money.
Let me suggest a joint meeting of the council, mayor, police commissioners, and chief to candidly analyze how current resources are being used and how police assets could be redeployed more effectively to curb the current levels of violence. Lock them all in a conference room with a big pot of coffee and no bathroom, and nobody comes out until they've developed an innovative serious plan.
Then decide what the strategy is going forward and figure how much each component of that would cost. Help the public understand what it is you're trying to do and how you plan to pay for it.
Looking for additional money before you've come up with a good plan to spend it on is backwards, and in the case of violence, the stakes are way too high!
Way past time to get serious about this.
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