Lee's Summit plans 'Night Out' events

Lee's Summit police have planned a couple of crime-prevention events, timed to the National Night Out Against Crime. The first will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 3 at City Hall. There will be free food, music, bounce houses, a rock wall and information on prevention crime. The next day, there will be a "National Noon Out for Senior Citizens" from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Pavilion at John Knox Village, 520 N.W. Murray Road. No bounce house, but there will be speakers on identity theft and other issues.

Raytown passes new youth curfew

The new curfew is 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Fox 4 reports.

Hat Tip: Saw this via Tony's Kansas City!

OP's game plan for fighting crime

Chief John Douglass' blog has a 147-page analysis, available in PDF, of crime trends in Overland Park and what police plan to do about it. It'll be the topic of discussion of a city council meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Sanders justice center at 124th and Foster.

The report's a little lengthy, and some of it's obvious -- older, less-affluent neighborhoods tend to be targets for crime, etc. But there are interesting nuggets in there, too.

- If you're familiar with the city, you probably already know that what violent crime happens in OP tends to happen in the north third of the city. There are some useful maps spelling this out in detail.

- Motels can be a big problem -- again, not a shocker if you've seen any of the reports about cops busting prostitutes or meth labs at the local motel. The police have tried to focus on these places, because they tend to be a magnet for crime. Also, there are some lovely photos.

You've heard about 'pre-crime'? Get ready for 'pre-victims'

I'm not sure what to make of this: In Dallas, the authorities are collecting DNA samples, offered voluntarily, from prostitutes and former prostitutes because it's likely those folks are going to be the victim of a violent crime. That way, if these women turn up dead or go missing, the police have their DNA on hand. It's not like the authorities are just throwing up their hands; the database is tied to a program that helps rehabilitate hookers. Still, it just feels a little weird ...

National Night Out set for Aug. 3

The National Night Out is an annual event where neighborhood groups and other civic bodies are encouraged to have block parties, cookouts and get-togethers where they can meet their neighbors. It's also used to promote crime-prevention tips, and several local cities have larger parties.

Olathe, by the way, is letting people know that its officers, firefighters and JoCo Med-Act paramedics are available to drop by Night Out events if you contact the department. For more information, contact Specialist Beth Wegner at 913-971-6323 or email bwegner@olatheks.org on or before July 29.

McGruff the Crime Dog turns 30

That's in people years, not dog years.

Another way to prevent D.V. murders?

More states are starting to make it a felony to choke someone because experts say that victims who suffer these kinds of attacks will eventually get killed by their abusers, USA Today reports. The hope is that -- by punishing choking attacks more seriously -- they can prevents more murders.

A 2008 study in the Journal of Emergency Medicine found 43% of women who were murdered in domestic assaults and 45% who were victims of attempted murder had been choked in the past year by their male partners.

Condom with teeth helps stop rapists, inventor says

CNN has a feature about Rape-aXe, which sounds like a body spray for the truly reprehensible, but is actually a type of female condom. A female condom, it should be noted, with interior teeth designed to latch onto potential rapists' genitals. The device's inventor is distributing them at the World Cup. From the inventor:

"It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure."

Here's a link to the official site.

Rugby league stars to help police tackle crime

I like the imagery, but no the players won't be taking criminals on in a scrum. (Although that would be awesome.)

Instead, think of playing cards with crime prevention messages on the back.

|Bob Cronkleton

Crime, car crashes linked?

Shawnee is going to start putting traffic patrols in places where wrecks and crimes both tend to occur, Brad Cooper reports. Research has shown that places with a lot of crashes tend to have a lot of crime, too, an NHTSA expert says. By putting highly-visible patrols in those areas, some departments have been able to cut both wrecks and offenses like burglary and robbery. Shawnee will focus on 75th Street, between Switzer and Quivira.

Forum to address unsolved murders

The Ad Hoc Group Against Crime will hold a public forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday to ask police, prosecutors and other officials why some Kansas City homicides are going unsolved. The meeting will be at the group's headquarters, 3116 Prospect Ave. The public is invited to attend.

Are you smarter than a sexual predator?

There's going to be a seminar on avoiding sexual assault at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Kansas City police academy, sponsored by MoSAVE and MOCSA with the police department. (The name of the program is "Are You Smarter Than a Predator?" -- which sort of reminded me of the Jeff Foxworthy game show, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?") It's free and open to anybody, though the focus is on men and women age 16 to 22. Raffle prizes will be given away.

Short, ugly people more likely to be crooks, report suggests

A team of economists looked at records going back to the 19th century and discovered that shorter men were 20 to 30 percent more likely to go to prison, the Post-Dispatch reports. Snip:

Other studies have found that shorter students tend to participate less frequently in clubs and sports. As a result these students may suffer a drop in self-esteem or not develop certain kinds of social skills that are useful later in life, the two economists theorized.

Murdered clerk's family wants new law

In March, Tony Singh was killed while working at a 7-Eleven in south Kansas City. Authorities have arrested and charged the man suspected of robbing and murdering Singh. Now, Singh's loved ones are circulating petitions for a ballot measure that would require convenience stores to have bulletproof glass and panic buttons, and require them to employ two clerks after 10 p.m. Mary Sanchez wrote about their effort this morning, along with industry reluctance.

There's a Facebook group devoted to the bill here.

Men organize to discourage Plaza shenanigans

The Ad Hoc Group Against Crime says several church and community organizations are trying to find men to spend Saturday night on the Plaza and keep an eye on any young people who show up. They're going to gather at 8:30 p.m. that night at Mill Creek Park to pray and get organized. The group says this is supposed to be a short-term solution -- that community leaders need to help offer job and recreation opportunities this summer, too.

Police ask parents to act like parents

The police department phrased it a lot more nicely in their press release, but that's the basic message here. KCPD is reminding the public that curfew for those 17 and younger is midnight to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. If officers find your kid breaking curfew at, say, a prominent shopping area located between Westport and Waldo, they're going to detain the little joker, force you to come get him and then give you a citation for your trouble.

They're also suggesting parents, I don't know, actually know what their kids are going to be doing when they drop the little darlings at a prominent shopping area located between Westport and Waldo.

Could KC get ShotSpotter technology?

A few years ago, a handful of U.S. cities started using a technology called ShotSpotter. It's a system that alerts police whenever a gun is fired, thanks to a series of special listening devices stationed throughout a city or patrol area. (That way, officers can respond faster to incidents.) KCPD is working on a proposal to get ShotSpotter technology for the city's Green Impact Zone and made a presentation today to the city's public safety committee. 

Officials are seeking federal grants to help pay for the project, which would cost about $2 million. If it gets approved, ShotSpotter could be installed by fall 2011.

Tony's Kansas City had the news first, though he's skeptical of whether it'll do much good.

Why do 'amateur superheroes' think they can fight crime?

The New York Post has a nifty feature about average people who like to dress up like superheroes and "fight crime" in real life. (We already have people who dress up in costumes and fight crime. We call them "police.") I keep waiting for the article about them getting pummeled by a drug dealer, but it hasn't happened yet. One of the Post's subjects is a former Kansas girl:

Before moving to New Jersey to be with her super man, she lived in Kansas, where she would secretly snap shots of meth labs and send them to the authorities.

“I used to carry weaponry with me. But seeing as how I’m in New York . . . I don’t,” Nyx said.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Annoyed!

Private security helps stop crime, study says

The Economist writes about a study that looked at business improvement districts -- groups where businesses band together to hire security guards, litter patrols, etc. They're essentially the same as the Community Improvement District that operates downtown, i.e. the people who hire the guys dressed like bumblebees. The average benefit-to-cost ratio is about 20 to 1 -- for every $10K spent, they get about $200,000 worth of crime prevention.

It's not crimefighting in the traditional sense, but keeping the streets clean, helping visitors and simply having eyes posted -- stuff that regular cops don't have the time to do -- can play a big part in crime prevention, it appears.

A new way to fight domestic abuse?

At Chief Corwin's blog, there's a post about KCPD officers using a new technique, the Lethality Assessment Protocol, to help stop domestic violence. Police are trained to ask 12 questions whenever they go on DV calls, and if a victim answers yes to the right questions, the officers do everything they can to get that person to a shelter or contact an advocate. (The questions are based on research to determine how likely abuse will happen again -- and be fatal.)

The project was grant-funded at first, but police say they're going to keep using the technique because it's worked well.

Remembering Teri Zenner

After social worker Teri Zenner was brutally killed by a client in Johnson County, husband Matt helped lobby for a law that will require social workers to get self-defense training. That law is set for a formal signing today in Topeka, Fox 4 reports. Matt Zenner says he's working with U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore to get a national version of the law.

Columbia OKs surveillance cameras

Voters in Columbia have passed a measure to put surveillance cameras in the city's downtown area, though it failed in the ward that covers most of the downtown. A grass-roots group pushed for the cameras after a local coach was mugged. It's still not clear how much the cameras will cost or how many will be installed.

Could calling 911 have saved Kan. boy?

Several days ago, a 19-month-old named Vincent Hill died from child abuse in Harvey County, Kan. A neighbor had called a state hotline to report suspected abuse back in January, but didn't call 911 about screams coming from the house, the Wichita Eagle reports. The local sheriff is now asking the public -- if they suspect abuse -- to call 911, too.

In Hill's case, the SRS call center decided not to investigate because there wasn't any indication of physical harm. But the local law would have sent an officer to the scene, just to check the welfare. The sheriff believes they might have seen something that could have gotten the boy removed from the home. The Eagle notes that a lot of people dislike calling 911 because they want to stay completely anonymous.

UMKC to host 'Take Back the Night'

UMKC's Violence Prevention and Response Project will host a Take Back the Night rally and march on April 20. There will be a pre-march rally at 6:30 p.m. on the university quad, and then participants will march to the J.C. Nichols Fountain on the Plaza at 7:30 p.m. Survivors of sexual assault will speak at 8 p.m.

The dumbest thing you'll read today

In New York, some playground equipment is going to be removed from a housing complex because it looks too much like a prison and "it was like promoting kids to go to jail."