Mayor Sly James's office is looking for someone to fill a new position. The job description: reduce crime.
As of July 19, Kansas City, Missouri is sitting at 79 homicides for the year.
Supporters say what the city is doing now isn't working. Skeptics say whoever fills the position better get out on the streets where the violence is happening.
The latest Citizens Task Force on Violence presented the Mayor's office with a long list of recommendations. One of them was creating a Violent Crime Programs Coordinator. It's a two-year contract, paying $62,000 a year, and will report to the City Manager's office.
"We've developed a lot of plans in the city and we haven't necessarily had anyone who made sure those plans got implemented. That's what this person would do," Executive Director of United Inner City Services Deidre Anderson said.
Anderson and District 4 Councilperson Jolie Justus were among a dozen others on the task force.
"Someone who, number one, has the ability to bridge the gap between all those different organizations," Justus said of the position.
The person will be the liaison between the City Manager's office, the police, community agencies and organizations. The person is responsible for enacting the task force's recommendations which include:
- A youth master plan
- A CDC homicide study
- Review teams on domestic violence fatalities
- Community resource centers
- An electronic database for existing resource centers
- Youth mentoring programs
- Public service campaigns on violence awareness
- Formally addressing the impact of violence on youth
- Collaborating on program and educational materials
- Website maintenance
- Tracking progress and completion rates
To see the full job description, click here.
"Whoever they get for this job -- I wish them well because it's going to be a hell of a job," street activist Pat Clarke said.
Clarke sat on the task force but walked away from it.
He says a two-year time frame to get all of the above accomplished may set the position up for failure.
"I don't expect this person to come in and stop crime. Hell, the mayor can't do that, no more than he looked upon the Chief to do it. But somebody's going to have to come in and work closely with the community," Clarke said.
The task force says we have to start somewhere, and this position may be the building block the city needs.
"We have all the tools and the people the resources we need, we just need to deploy them more effectively. I'm confident the right person is out there," Justus said.
