KC business owners call on city leaders to find solutions to rise in break-ins

KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. Share your story idea with La’Nita.

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Business owners in parts of Kansas City hit by a rise in break-ins claim there has been too much talk and not enough action from city leaders.

Now, they’re calling for preventative steps to stop the thieves.

“The first five years we were here we didn’t have any problems,” said Julian Garcia, co-owner of Bay Boy Specialty Sandwiches.

Criminals have hit the business twice in the last year.

“Luckily, we didn’t get anything taken this time,” Garcia said. “Last year, we weren’t so lucky.”

This year, Betty Rae’s Ice Cream hasn’t been so lucky, either.

The shop’s River Market location has been hit twice just in the past month.

Owner Matt Shatto said city leaders need to find ways to make a change.

Jack McCormick

“We need proactive efforts,” Shatto said. “We need police on the beat down here from midnight to four in the morning. I don’t need you to give me $1,000 back to fix a door. I need you to stop the crime to begin with.”

Shatto’s referring to the Back to Business Fund, a program the city approved last month that would reimburse businesses impacted by vandalism and burglary.

The initiative would pay up to $3,000 to help cover costs for repairs for incidents between July 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025.

Additionally, the fund would provide up to $5,000 to each business to help pay for the installation of security measures between July 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025.

Businesses call this a band-aid to the real problem.

“They understand that there is not a police presence down here after hours, and they feel like we’re ripe for the picking,” Shatto said.

Jack McCormick

The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said it is implementing several tactics to cut crime levels, including relaunching foot patrol officers who work downtown.

The launch of the unit is relatively new, said Sgt. Phil DiMartino, a spokesperson for the police department.

“They are working on identifying some of their operational perimeters,” he said. “Some of that may include shifting hours to meet the needs of when these things are occurring.”

Police are also looking at increasing patrols where these incidents are occurring.

“If we get more calls in a certain area, we know that we need to shift focus to that area,” he said. “And that’s one thing that we will do with the River Market.”

The application for the Back to Business Fund opens Tuesday.