City Leaders Outline Summer Safety Initiatives
The end of
the school year marks the unofficial start of summer in Columbus, and today
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther was joined by leaders from the Columbus Division of
Police and Recreation and Parks Department to announce the city’s summer safety
strategy.
“There’s a
lot to look forward to in the coming weeks in our community: festivals,
concerts, Pride, parades, Boom, camps, pools and more,” said Mayor Ginther.
“Know that we are committed to doing all that we can to ensure a safe and
successful summer – particularly for our children, teens and youth. That is why
we are, once again, making unprecedented investments in summer programming to
provide fun and engagement through structure and stability.”
That
includes $20.1 million for summer programming in partnership with Columbus City
Council, including $9 million going to more than 90 community organizations.
These groups offer safe, constructive opportunities for youth to learn, grow
and stay active, and include programs like ReRoute and TAPS (Teen and Police
Service Academy) that are specifically designed to steer kids away from
violence and other dangerous behaviors.
The city is
also bolstering policing city-wide, through initiatives including “Operation
Moonlight,” “Operation Burnout,” and “Safe Streets.”
“Operation
Moonlight” will put up to 40 additional officers in high-visibility areas
during key times throughout the summer. That means dozens of extra boots on the
ground, when and where they are needed most. This represents a total cost
commitment of $2 million, up from $1.6 million last year.
“Operation
Burnout” targets the reckless operation of motor vehicles, “take-overs” of city
streets, businesses and private properties, along with related criminal
activities. This has been successfully rolled out over the last month in
multiple parts of the city. Over the last two weekends in the Short North,
“Operation Burnout” resulted in 10 felony arrests, 45 misdemeanor
arrests/summons, seven weapons recovered, five incidents of drugs seized, nine
curfew summons and 202 vehicles impounded.
“We are
pleased with these results because those numbers are down week over week. That
means the community heard and heeded our warnings: that violent, disruptive
behavior of any kind will not be tolerated,” said Columbus Police First
Assistant Chief LaShanna Potts. “But more importantly, we saw two weekends in a
row without violence in one of our most densely packed, heavily visited
neighborhoods. Our goal is not arrests and citations: it is safety. And by that
measure, ‘Operation Burnout’ has been an unqualified success.”
Based on
these promising results, this weekend the city will scale back parking
restrictions to allow street parking along the southbound lanes of High Street
between Goodale and Fifth Avenue. Street parking along the northbound lanes of
High Street will still not be permitted after 10 p.m.
The popular
“Safe Streets” program will also return this summer. Teams of bike officers
will work together across the city in every zone, both engaging the community
and conducting enforcement activity. These officers will be highly visible and
eager to interact with the community.
Last year
during “Safe Streets,” officers:
- Checked 375 businesses, churches and
schools
- Attended 169 community events
- Worked 523 hours attending community
meetings and events
- Made 107 felony arrests
- Seized 96 firearms
- And spent more than 2,000 hours on
their bikes
This year
“Safe Streets” will be enhanced by the addition of CPD’s newly created 6th
Patrol Zone. Adding this new zone has helped police balance calls for service
across the city. This has more evenly distributed the workloads of patrol
officers, creating opportunities for stronger relationships between officers
and the neighbors they serve.
Supporting
these efforts, Sunday the Division of Police will have 29 brand-new officers
completing their training and hitting the streets.
Thanks to
funding approved by Columbus City Council, safety efforts in Columbus parks are
once again being bolstered by 25 portable camera towers and 7 light towers.
These cameras can be monitored in real-time and relocated as needed in
consultation between CPD and Columbus Recreation and Parks.
The city
also asks for the continued vigilance and partnership of parents and guardians
to do everything they can to keep their kids and teens safe. Per city code,
everyone between the ages of 13 and 17 needs to be off the streets from
midnight through 4:30 a.m. If families don’t enforce it in their own
households, the Columbus Division of Police will.