Gladstone Police Dept
Gladstone is considered an “inner tier” suburb in the Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is completely surrounded by Kansas City, MO, a densely populated urban center with significantly different demographics than Gladstone. Gladstone is primarily residential that has vibrant and active retail areas with a white population greater than 78%. These retail districts include big box stores, grocery stores and other retail businesses. The multiple major arterial roads are used by many residents of surrounding municipalities to connect to the multiple state and interstate highways that run just outside of Gladstone's city limits in addition to patronizing our businesses. When viewed from that context, it appears that at any one time, the majority of people operating vehicles inside the corporate city limits of Gladstone are not its residents. As demonstrated by submitted statistics, approximately 77% of the stops conducted by our officers are on vehicles operated by non-residents of the driving age population using your 2023 population statistic. Since the numbers clearly show the vast majority of individuals contacted by Gladstone officers during vehicle stops are not residents, comparing the demographics of these drivers to the demographics of Gladstone's residents will result in flawed conclusions. Finally, as a CALEA nationally accredited organization, the Gladstone Police Department is continuously providing training to its members on such topics as bias-based policing and legal updates to ensure a well-trained, professional police force utilizing best practices in our profession.