kcmo Police department

John Trainor of the KCMO Police Department had some great ideas to share at a recent meeting with homeowners in the 7400 block of Summit. We took his informaiton and added a lot available from other sources, including our parents and common sense.

 

Non-Emergency Number

816-234-5111 It is still hooked into the 911 system for calls, but doesn't clog 911 and slow down the response time to true emergencies.

 

Speeding Cars

If you wish to report cars speeding up and down the street, request a radar trap. Call 816-482-8174, Tim Whitehead.  Let them know what time of day we want this done.  They will do this as often as needed until the problem stops.

 

Possible Drug Activity

Go to http://www.kcpd.org. In the middle of the page go to "Most Requested"  click on "suspected drug activity"  - a form comes up and asks information such as house address, license plate numbers, etc.  If cars are parking and then leaving quickly, go to that page and type in as much information as you know. License plates can be cross-referenced for warrants, etc.  They want Kansas plates too.

If you’re a Crime Victim

 

 If a stealing occurs at your house, call it in. Stealings are, for example, a bike is left out in your front yard and someone takes it.

If a burglary occurs at your house, call the police to come out.  The generic definition of burglary is:  a person knowingly enters unlawfully or knowingly remains unlawfully in a building or inhabitable structure for the purpose of committing a crime therein. The police need to come out to gather fingerprints.

Because the most serious level of theft is one in which the victim is home, most burglars will not enter an occupied residence. Therefore, always answer the doorbell, even if you don’t open the door. Just ask who it is then send them away, or tell them you’re not free to come to the door right now. Let them know someone is home.

 

Crime Prevention

In order to help keep everyone living in Ward Parkway Homes Association a bit safer, we’ve compiled  top tips from the KCMO Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. Most are simple common sense. One of the easiest ways is to know your neighbors and neighborhood. If you know which people and cars shouldn’t be here, you may identify a criminal. If you know your neighbors, you’ll have more people caring about your welfare and that of your family, and more people to go to for help when you need a favor. 

 

The Police

 

·          Report all crime. Even if you feel foolish that you perhaps left a door unlocked, report it anyway. It takes several incidents to indicate a pattern of when crooks are active and more information helps the police to spot patterns and catch more criminals.

·          The police keep statistics on various areas and need complete and accurate information to effectively identify trends and to allocate scarce resources where they’re most needed.

·          You can probably claim stolen property on your homeowner’s insurance, but you usually need a police report, so you’ll need to do the paperwork anyway. If the loss is too small to claim, call anyway to help the police compile accurate statistics.

·          Do not enter your house if you find the door or window broken and there’s the possibility a criminal is still inside. Go to another location and call 911 or lock yourself in the car and use your cell phone to call the police to check out the house before entering.

·          Use the non-emergency number which is 813.234.5111 if you discover an item is stolen and the thief is long gone and there is no physical danger to you or your family.

Report suspicious vehicles, people or activity, such as numerous cars visiting a house for just minutes

 

Control Access

 

·          Put away each evening all bicycles, tricycles, scooters, baby carriages and any other item of value in your yards, front and back.

·          Lock all access points to your family and your belongings - the cars, the house, the garage and outbuildings such as a storage shed.

·          Don’t leave the front door unlocked if you’re working in the back yard. You’d never know if someone came in and took things.

·          Similarly, don’t leave the garage door open on the front of the house if you’re working in the back yard.

·          Lock the door between the garage and house at night.

·          Keep the bushes trimmed near doors so a burglar can’t hide and push his way into the house when you enter.

·          Put the cars in the driveway each night, not left on the street. More vandalism occurs to cars on the street than those in driveways. If you have a garage door opener, bring it inside with you.

·          Do not hide keys outside. Burglars know all those clever places like under the planter, under a rock (real or fake), over the door frame, behind the air conditioner etc. and easily find them.

·          If you want to leave the windows open a crack, secure the lower window so that it can’t be raised further than the one or two inch gap you’ve left.

·          If you have a very large pet, and therefore a very large pet door, be sure it’s not big enough for a thief to wiggle through, or to reach an arm through and open the lock. Secure the door when you’re not home if it is too large.