Mayor Lucas responds to surge in property, violent crime in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As he's under pressure from all sides, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is responding.

"What we need to do is say how in each of our limits can we do better – so I'm not here to blame anyone what I'm here to say – perhaps with some pressure we all need to pick up and stop pointing fingers," Lucas said.

This as the city faces an inflection point. How will it respond to a crime wave like it has never seen before? The mayor for his part believes the city of fountains will do just fine because it's "resilient."

In a one-on-one exclusive sit down with FOX4, Lucas opens up about what no doubt has been a challenging time. A time where many of the city's wins have been overshadowed by the plague that has always reared it's head, crime.

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"It is heartbreaking it is tragic it is for too much. It will never overwhelm our ability to have a response in everyway to try and make this community safer," he said.

Kansas City, the state's most populous city, can't get it's grip over what for many, seems like overwhelming amounts of crime.

Property crime is still surging. Sideshows have in a way become normalized. Violent crime also still an issue . Three people shot dead in less than 10 hours Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

While deaths from those crimes aren't higher, non-deadly shooting numbers are higher than they've ever been before.

Lucas says getting a grasp of this situation isn't a tomorrow problem, it's a right now issue, and not running away from the fact that he believes we're in the crisis moment.

"We should not say there are 12-18 months solutions when there are crisis on our streets now – and no one that has been a victim of crime at their business or their residence should ever have anyone show up that says there is nothing we can do," Lucas said.

At the core of the problem of course goes back to funding, lack of bodies and more. But the Mayor is clear what he believes is at the center of this problem.

"When you have teenagers as young as 14 and 15 involved in murders both as victims and assailants it seems like the only answer isn't just detention, it isn't just us on the enforcement side. We got too many people out there who aren't sacred to die and they are engaging in activities that represent that," he said.

Eric Wesson the founder and CEO of The Next Page KC, who's is a community leader and has called the city home all is life agrees.

"The violence that I see now is pretty much just out of control. I don't think I've ever seen it this bad. I never have seen this many young people out of control with," Wesson said.

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One of the mayor's huge concerns is who oversees the police department. Unlike most city across the country, it's not the local municipality it's the state.

During this time, Lucas has tried to reach out to the Governor's Office to set up a meeting but that request by Gov. Mike Parson's Office was denied sighting the fact that a new governor will take that job in January, according to Lucas.

But this lack of dialogue that is happening with the state hasn't stopped the mayor from trying.

He's introduced multiple pieces of legislation. He's introduced in recent weeks from new detention centers, to helping with the financial burden for businesses broken into or working on preventive measures.

"What I know about this city is that we are resilient, and we will continue to try and find solutions. What I'm never going to do is wave a white flag," he said.

While he believes that there is more work to do, giving up hope? No, he says he as no plans to do that.

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"I think Kansas City is an outstanding place to do business and raise a family. That is a choice I've made time and again my family leave here, a lot of my family does not have police protection there out every day. My wife was out in the community today with my children. I am invested in this community, and I care about its future just like all of you do," Lucas said.

FOX4 reached out to the Governor's Office, who released a statement saying "I am not aware of any such conversation or this particular request. Public safety remains a top priority for Governor Parson, and he is always willing to meet with Missouri's Mayors, as scheduling allows, to learn how best the state can help in reducing crime, especially in our major metro areas. "I also want to point out that the Governor's Office does not "run" the KCPD. The Governor appoints members to the Board of Police Commissioners, but the decisions of the Board are its own."

FOX4 reached out to KCPD Chief Stacey Graves and the Board of Police Commissioners and have not heard back at this time.