Using Kansas City police for security at KCI has always been a bad idea. It still is

The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
·3 min read

A City Council committee is scheduled on Wednesday to discuss yet another plan to replace the Kansas City International Airport Police with regular Kansas City police officers.

The resolution, sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Heather Hall, would direct City Manager Brian Platt to explore the costs and benefits of switching out police duties at the airport and report his findings a month from now.

Using regular Kansas City police at the airport has been a discussion topic for years.

It’s always been a bad idea. It still is.

There were welcome indications Tuesday that the item will at least be held for further debate. We’d go further: The committee should table the plan indefinitely, as quickly as possible.

There is no evidence that the airport is, or will be, a hotbed of criminal activity. The Airport Police division costs about $6.6 million a year and employs about 100 people. We’ve seen no evidence they’ve failed to protect travelers’ safety and convenience in any meaningful way.

Last year, Aviation Department officials estimated that assigning KCI police functions to the Kansas City Police Department would cost an additional $4 million, paid by passengers and airlines.

Both are already facing higher costs because of the new terminal project. The city shouldn’t add to that burden without a clear reason for doing so. None exists here.

There are Federal Aviation Administration hurdles to be addressed, too. Officers can’t have significant responsibilities outside of airport grounds if they’re paid with aviation funds. More KCI police isn’t the answer for Northland crime concerns.

Another reason why this plan should be dropped: The Kansas City Police Department has far more important things to worry about than security at the airport.

The KCPD is still in the middle of a fierce dispute over budgeting for other police functions, like patrol officers and investigations. A recent ill-considered court ruling ordered the “restoration” of $42 million to the department’s budget, but also explicitly showed how the City Council can shift money around for different policing priorities next year.

That’s a critical decision and debate. It makes no sense for the City Council to move officers to the airport with one hand and then reallocate patrol officers and detectives with the other hand next year.

It makes even less sense for a city that wants to increase its oversight of police functions to voluntarily give up the police department it does control at the airport and turn it over to the state-run board.

In an interview Tuesday, Lucas agreed the airport policing model should be part of a broader conversation about the department next year.

“I would probably push to have the (airport police) resolution held, and then we figure out whatever we’re going to figure out for next year,” the mayor said.

The Kansas City Police Department complains incessantly about losing officers to retirement, to other departments, or to other careers. That’s the problem the department, and the community must address, not any perceived shortfall at the airport.

“The primary conversation should be homicides,” Lucas said, “not necessarily something that ain’t broke right now.”

We firmly agree. The idea of changing police service at KCI has circled for two decades. It’s time for the City Council to land this particular aircraft, then park it away for good.

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