KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A targeted area in Kansas City’s urban core is seeing a decrease in crime. That decrease comes as a result of the Green Impact Zone Initiatvie along with neighborhood groups and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
In a community once riddled with crime and blight, a small transformation is happening day by day.
“Two years ago I didn’t have much hope for this neighborhood,” said neighbor Dorothy Hawkins.
Neighbors mingle while picking up trash and restoring old homes.
“Suddenly, you’ve got neighbors on Paseo and neighbors on Troost that don’t know each other that suddenly start to know each other,” said Neighborhood Association President Saundra Hayes.
Patrol officers even stop by to say hello.
“We have seen a renewed interest in the community to partner with the police department to form relationships with the police department,” said Ofcr. James Schriever with KCPD. “As well as neighbors working with neighbors to rid their neighborhoods of crime.”
It’s a collaborative effort between the Green Impact Zone, neighborhood groups and KCPD that has helped clean this neighborhood up both visually and statistically.
“Criminal element or anybody goes into that neighborhood sees it rundown, sees it trashy, its gonna give them a psychological effect that nobody in here cares so its very easy for that crime to take root in neighborhoods that suffer from decay,” Ofcr. Schriever said.
With a restored sense of pride, Manheim Park saw a 26 percent reduction in crime from 2010 to 2011.
“The way that has helped reduce crime is because now you have neighbors talking to one another. You have neighbors watching out for one another. You have neighbors calling the police if they see something suspicious. So that’s what helped drop this crime,” Hayes said.
All neighborhoods within the Green Impact Zone are seeing a decrease in crime.
