COLUMBUS – With the city poised to set new a record for the number of homicides in a single year, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther has proposed spending more than $660 million on safety services in his next operating budget.
The 2022 budget, due to be officially presented to the city council Monday, calls for adding 170 new police officers and 125 new firefighters in the coming year.
“My proposed operating budget includes funding for three new recruit classes to keep staffing at current levels. The officers will be trained extensively in community policing, which is crucial to bridging the divide between the community and the police while addressing the current spike in crime,” Ginther said.
There have been a half-dozen shooting incidents in Columbus in the past three days, including one which resulted in the city’s 175th homicide of the year, tying the all-time record set in 2020.
Ginther’s spending proposal also includes more than $5 million the Alternative Response Program following a six-week pilot program earlier this year that teamed together paramedics, social workers, and police dispatchers to review the best response to non-emergency 911 calls.
“The philosophy underpinning Alternative Response underscores a meaningful and pertinent truth: we cannot solely police our way beyond the status quo,” Ginther said.
The plan is aimed at people suffering from mental health and addiction issues for whom a police response isn’t always appropriate. It also aims to free up officers for true public safety emergencies.
While maintaining funding or creating a variety of community-policing programs and emphasizing officer wellness, the Division of Police is also stepping up its efforts to diversify, starting with its first Woman Focused Multi-Jurisdictional Law Enforcement Career Fair at the Columbus Police Academy, 1000 N. Hague Avenue, Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
There will also be a tour of the academy and law enforcement recruiters and leaders from Columbus, Cleveland, Dublin, Hilliard, Reynoldsburg, Toledo, the Ohio State Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office will discuss with members of the public the importance of women in policing, Chief Elaine Bryant said.
Officers will share personal experiences working in a predominantly male field and how they balance work life and family life