COLUMBUS – With Columbus just eight homicides short of matching last year’s record of 175, Mayor Andrew Ginther and neighborhood leaders Tuesday announced that the city would spend $15 million on new police facilities in two areas that have been plagued by crime.
The city will spend $10 million on a new “real-time crime center” in Linden and a police sub-station on the Hilltop.
“I believe the only way we can reach our full potential as a city and as a community is if everyone is sharing in our success, and that means investing in neighborhoods that have been left out and left behind,” Ginther said, responding to criticism that his administration has placed too much emphasis on fighting poverty and crime in Linden and on the West and South sides.
A new study shows Columbus has experienced the 10th highest increase in its homicide rate among the nation’s 50 largest cities during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the third quarter of 2019 to the end of September.
Ten million dollars will be spent to construct the real-time crime center on city-owned property at 750 Piedmont Road and the remaining $5 million on a sub-station on Sullivant Avenue between Columbian and Townsend Avenues (see map, above), replacing a facility that was built in 1965 and is woefully insufficient to meet the city’s present-day requirements, police Chief Elaine Bryant said.
The Linden crime center will support the relocation of 911 dispatch services, including the city’s Alternative Response Program, as well as safety and technical staff, who will analyze incoming data and relay critical information to officers in the field.
In addition to housing police officers, safety services and equipment, the Sullivant Avenue substation will feature community meeting spaces and recreational facilities Bryant says will strengthen relations between police and the neighborhood.
The city is currently in negotiations with the State of Ohio to purchase the West Side land and the agreement will have to be approved by Columbus City Council and the Ohio General Assembly.
Of the $15 million proposed to date, $12 million will be part of the city’s forthcoming capital improvement budget and the remaining $3 million will come from funds carried over from the current fiscal year.