Candidates: Unchecked property crime against businesses driven by prosecutor’s failure to hold offenders accountable

Melesa Johnson, Tracey Chappell share their solutions for combatting recent uptick in break-ins at Kansas City businesses

Editor’s note: Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is not seeking re-election, so it’s an open race for her countywide seat. Democrat Melesa Johnson and Republican Tracey Chappell are running in the 2024 general election with a vote set for Nov. 5. Click here to read more about this race and others in the 2024 KC Voter Guide.

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A reluctance to prosecute offenders engaged in burglaries and break-ins is creating a snowball effect that’s hitting entrepreneurs across the city like a brick, acknowledged candidates for Jackson County prosecutor during a Friday candidate forum.

Candidates Tracey Chappell and Melesa Johnson face off at a Jackson County Prosecutor Candidate Forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“Our small business community is hurting right now,” said Melesa Johnson, a Democrat seeking the top prosecutor position. “Everybody’s not Walmart or Target with a mass loss prevention office that can sustain the losses that we are speaking about. [Local businesses hit in] recent weeks are in the news — Mildred’s, Mother Earth Coffee — it goes on and on. It’s almost every single day.”

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With such property crimes, including motor-vehicle thefts, increasingly affecting the livelihoods of Kansas Citians, both Johnson and Republican candidate Tracey Chappell agreed a lack of action from the current Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has strained relations with law enforcement and fueled public frustration.

“Property crimes are not being prosecuted in Jackson County,” said Chappell during the forum, which was presented by the Kansas City Public Safety Coalition and Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “There’s no written proof or rule for it, but they are simply not being prosecuted in Jackson County, and under my leadership, I absolutely will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

In response to Friday’s candidate commentary, Michael Mansur, director of communication for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, clarified that while Chappell might cite reluctance to prosecute property crimes, actual prosecution rates correspond to the reality that police agencies send only about 10 percent of all property crimes to the office of the current prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker.

“Our data shows the majority of property crimes presented to our office are prosecuted. More than 80 percent of burglaries sent to us by police agencies, for example, are filed and prosecuted by our office,” Mansur said. “So it’s not about reluctance by prosecutors. The problem is we only receive 10 percent of the property crimes.”

Re-establishing a close relationship between law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office would be a top priority for both candidates, they said at the forum, offering different plans of action that involve training police officers and attorneys, alternative youth programs, and getting active in the communities where crime is most common.

Tracey Chappell speaks during a Jackson County Prosecutor Candidate Forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

‘The buck stops with the Jackson County prosecutor’  

Chappell, previously the first Black woman lead prosecutor for Blue Springs, Missouri, seeks to establish a dedicated “Community Prosecutors” unit within the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office to strengthen collaboration with law enforcement. 

Tracey Chappell speaks during a Jackson County Prosecutor Candidate Forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“We’re leading victims to be victimized over and over again. They were victimized when their car was stolen, when their business was broken into, and when the police will come to them,” said Chappell. “The buck stops with the Jackson County prosecutor, and if the prosecutor is not prosecuting those crimes, the police officer knows there’s nothing else that they can do.” 

Her proposal involves assigning prosecutors to key police divisions — East Patrol, South Division, and Metro Division — so officers have immediate access to legal support.

“Police officers will readily have a prosecutor on hand, that they can ask questions to and they can get effective and fast communication so that they can do their job and solve crimes in the manner that they need to,” said Chappell.

As the name suggests, community involvement also is a core component of the Community Prosecutors Unit, she said, pledging that her prosecutors would frequently attend neighborhood and business association meetings to explain their policies and procedures directly to residents.

“When individuals in our community see that they can trust us, they no longer want to take matters into their own hands,” Chappell said. “They know that we are going to stand up and we are going to prosecute those cases in a manner that they should be.” 

Chappell’s “#JustUs” program — part of the Future Black Lawyers Institute — helps steer high school students from violence toward law careers, she said. She also collaborates with Exceeds Expectations, promoting financial literacy to combat poverty.

Melesa Johnson speaks during a Jackson County Prosecutor Candidate Forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Offenders need to be held accountable

Johnson, who currently serves within Mayor Quinton Lucas’ administration as director of public safety, said tackling property crime will be at the very top of her list as Jackson County prosecutor. 

Melesa Johnson speaks during a Jackson County Prosecutor Candidate Forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Johnson aims to address the under-prosecution of property crimes by creating a separate Property Crimes Division. Currently, nonviolent property crimes get deprioritized in the General Crimes Division. Her plan would pull these cases out and focus on them directly. 

To staff the new division, Johnson proposes using law students under Supreme Court rule 13, and under the supervision of a licensed attorney, reducing the burden on existing prosecutors. 

This stance is one Chappell disagrees with, saying it would lead to uncontrolled environments. She instead for calls for more experienced attorneys in those rooms.

“These law students can gain practical experience to supplement their legal education,” Johnson argued. “It’s also kind of an undercover recruiting metric as well, to expose law students to the profession at an earlier stage.”

“But most importantly, our offenders are held accountable, because if we learn anything from these past weeks, if property crime goes unchecked, it absolutely can and will escalate into more violence and egregious offenses,” she added, referencing the recent killing of Shaun Brady, co-owner of Brady & Fox Restaurant and Lounge.

Johnson leads Partners for Peace, a collaboration between KCMO, Jackson County Combat, KCPD, community leaders, and social service providers, aimed to prevent retaliatory crime and provide support for the family members affected. She also plans for a countywide mentorship program for suspended, high-risk students to get them on the right track.

Candidates Tracey Chappell and Melesa Johnson share a laugh with moderator Dana Tippin Cutler, of James W. Tippin & Associates, during a candidate forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Working with police 

During the forum, the candidates also discussed deferred prosecution, being prosecutors who also are women of color, Blair’s Law, prosecuting celebratory gunfire, retaining staff on a limited budget, and addressing rising crime on 31st and Prospect — including area prostitution hot spots and theft at shops like SunFresh.

A spectator videos Tracey Chappell speaking during a Jackson County Prosecutor Candidate Forum organized at Union Station by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

They agreed that 31st and Prospect deals with crimes that mainly should be handled by the Municipal Court, but Johnson believes the prosecutor’s office could take a stronger stance on dealing with criminal offenses of all levels to give perpetrators the wake up call they need. 

She called for transparent dialogue between law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office to build trust to effectively tackle crime in areas like 31st and Prospect. 

“The days of finger pointing and not owning our own shortcomings has to be over, because who ends up losing in that situation? The community, our residents, and a developer who, against all odds, redeveloped a place in this town that no one wanted to deal with, and so it’s all of our responsibilities,” said Johnson.

Chappell also said communication and collaborating with law enforcement is key in seeing real change, and that her administration would be willing to do the difficult work to make that happen. 

“In order to prosecute these crimes, we must connect with the police department,” she said. “We must establish a relationship with police departments to let them know that we are ready, willing, and able to prosecute these crimes.”