‘Here to make our community safer’: KC leaders unite in effort to tackle violence prevention

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - There was standing room only with an overflow crowd ed by Zoom for the KC United for Public Safety meeting on Friday morning.

Some big hitters in the room ready to help tackle violence and crime prevention in Kansas City included Mayor Quinton Lucas, Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, KD Chief Stacey Graves plus dozens of nonprofit leaders, community and business owners.

The goal: make sure a safer Kansas City isn’t just a dream but a reality.

“Everyone that’s coming here today is part of this positive movement,” Graves said.

KC United for Public Safety was created one year ago and has met three times. Friday, the group introduced actionable items and sent each attendee away with ideas of how they could help. This included sharing mental health resources and gang intervention information, getting involved in neighborhood organizations and teaching employers how to staff.

“It’s a long time coming and this is exactly what it’s going to take to have a sustainable change in Kansas City,” Chief Graves said.

Many of the action items leaders walked away with are only possible with collaboration and funding. Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw says part of that is a push from the city to increase its public safety budget. That was approved for 2025-26 just this week.

“While the city is really excited about all of the money that we put into violence prevention and public safety we know that in order to truly make an impact we need additional funds,” she said.

Lucas told the group that moves like this help make sure the ball is moving toward a safer Kansas City.

“That’s why we stand together no matter how we feel about each other our politics our differences, we know that we’re here to make our community safer,” he said.

This goal is not just to keep residents safe. Graves said a big push is to make sure any action items are done for the World Cup in 2026.

“When we host so many people coming in from different countries we want to be great hosts and make sure everyone feels safe and has a great time in Kansas City,” she said.

Many of the ideas and concerns discussed during the meeting came from the community sharing what they experience daily. Public responses can be submitted here. The group is also calling on businesses to help not only share ideas but the group has come up with action items they can take to contribute to a safer Kansas City. That includes getting involved and mobilizing employees. You can learn more here.

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