KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a relaxed atmosphere with free food and music, Kansas City, Missouri, police officers and neighbors from the Ivanhoe community got a chance to mingle and build trust.
KCPD officers played a basketball with teenagers and let kids try on some of the SWAT team's bulletproof vests.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department also showed off some of its trucks.
"We as a whole, this is what we want to do," KCPD Ofc. Holly Sticken said. "We are trying to make the difference."
Last year, there were 18 homicides around the Ivanhoe neighborhood.
According to Sticken, five of the homicides were within the same two blocks.
But there are signs things are changing. She said homicides are down 33 percent this year, which she credits in part to community-building events.
"I hope (the community is walking) away feeling we are not always there to punish them," Sticken said. "They can come to us. We are their friends; we are people, too."
Taking It to the Streets provided the food and inflatable bounce houses. The organization is teaming up with other law enforcement agencies to recreate this event around the metro.
"We want to let these kids know and these families know that there is hope beyond these four corners of the streets they live in," Taking It to the Streets found Scott Lamaster said.
