‘Safe Streets’ helps cut violent crime in 1 of 3 neighborhoods
Data show 16.2% reduction in Linden area of Columbus.
The expanded COLUMBUS —
Safe Streets program appears to have had an impact on violent crime in the Linden neighborhood in Columbus, but the success in the other two areas targeted is less apparent.
According to a final analysis prepared by Columbus Division of Police Cmdr. Jennifer Knight and sent to Chief Kim Jacobs last week, the threemonth program resulted in a significant drop in violent crime and gun-related violent crime in the Linden neighborhood.
The Safe Streets program operated from May 1 through Sept. 1 in three areas: Linden, northeast of Downtown; Parsons Avenue to the south; and the Hilltop neighborhood to the west.
The program began in 2017 in Linden and expanded to the other two areas in 2018 in an effort to reduce crime and improve relationships between the police and residents in those parts of the city.
The Safe Streets program grew out of the Summer Strike Force patrols in the area. That program drew criticism from some neighborhood residents following the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Henry Green in 2016 by two plainclothes officers.
In 2017, the Safe Streets program was started in Linden. Mayor Andrew J. Ginther expanded the program to include the Hilltop and Parsons Avenue areas in 2018, dedicating more than $1.5 million for personnel costs.
Data from the program show violent crime in Linden was 16.2 percent lower than in 2016, before Safe Streets had started. During the threemonth period of Safe Streets, violent crime involving firearms was reported to be 23 percent lower than in 2016.
The Parsons Avenue area saw a 21 percent increase in violent crime from 2017, including one additional homicide. Knight said in her report that the initial boundaries for the Safe Streets officers in the corridor were “too confining, limiting enforcement and engagement activities to a smaller area.”
Knight noted there were crime “hot spots” that moved on a near-weekly basis, requiring the Safe Streets officers to move their target areas several times during the three-month program and limiting the ability of the officers to connect with neighborhood residents.
On the Hilltop, violent crime was reported to be 22 percent lower than in 2016, but slightly higher than in 2017. Gun-related violent crime was the same as in 2017, and there were two additional homicides.
Property crimes, such as burglaries and motor vehicle thefts, decreased in all three areas from 2017.
Nancy Rhynard, who works on economic development for the Hilltop Business Association, said residents and business owners saw the benefits of having officers on bicycles.
“It’s not a matter of they’re feeling safer or not, it’s that they can reach out and get help if they need it,” she said.
Rhynard said the Hilltop still has challenges and needs more police, as do other areas in the city, but residents felt the officers on their streets were more available and responsive.
“They’re more visible and able to get into areas they normally don’t go (on the bikes),” she said.
Knight, who is commander for Zone 4, which includes Linden, used the Safe Streets officers to gather intelligence for an additional effort with the third-shift officers to target areas within Linden where crime was happening outside the hours the Safe Street officers were working.
That coordination resulted in an additional 31 felony warrants being served and 51 firearms being recovered during a seven-week period.