With more than 300 suspects arrested during the summer months, Mayor Michael B. Coleman said the results of the first phase of the Police Hot Spot Initiative was a success.
During the early part of the summer, Mayor Coleman had announced a four-point Neighborhood Safety Plan which included the Hot Spot Initiative. The city government had set aside $500,000 for the plan.
At this point, only 40 percent of the money allocated has been used, said Steve Gammill, a Columbus city deputy chief.
In addition to the money which was set aside, Coleman also received $75,000 from the Franklin County Commissioner’s Office.
The plan included developing a Neighborhood Safety Academy, starting the Hot Spot Initiative and developing target strategies.
As part of the Hot Spot Investigations, the police had chosen four hot spot areas – Weinland Park, Clintonville, Mt. Vernon Ave. and Eastmoor – for the Columbus City police force to target its crime fighting strategies, Coleman said. The end result was a success for the four neighborhoods.
Each area had its own specific problems.
Some tactics include direct patrol by officers who know the area, Rockwell said. Other tactics include undercover detective work.
Weinland was chosen for its high rate of assault, auto theft and other major serious crimes, Coleman said. During the period between July 18 and Sept. 30, the police had helped lower the crime statistics by 29 percent. Police officers had also made 20 felony arrests and 26 suspect arrests.
In Clintonville, the police focused on the recent rash of burglaries and auto thefts, the mayor said. However, by the end of the summer months, the burglaries had been reduced by 53 percent.
Narcotics were the big problem in Mount Vernon, but officers were also able to bring down the drug trafficking, Coleman said.
Although crime was not high in Eastmoor, the neighborhood was picked because of its unique community participation, the mayor said.
“It’s not a one suit fits all the neighborhoods,” Coleman said.
For this reason, different strategies were used in the different neighborhoods.
“Tactics are dictated by the crime,” said John Rockwell, a Columbus city deputy police chief.
Students can also see the police work in action.
Gamble said a mobile sub station has been placed at East Eighth Avenue and Fourth Street to help decrease the level of crime. In addition, the police will also start focusing upon the southern university district.
Mayor Coleman said the success of the Hot Spot investigations depended on three factors: city officials’ abilities to use their resources to their full capabilities, community participation and pride and using technology and data to identify which area the police force should target next.
Rockwell also agreed with the mayor. He said crime mapping is important to deciding which area to investigate.
Each week, a crime strategy group made up of members from all the police bureaus meets to focus on crime mapping, Rockwell said.
The police have other hot areas to target, but they are not releasing the information to the public. Officers, however, are thinking about extending the focus of the initiative.
During the recent wave of homicides, officers have discovered domestic violence to be related to some of the incidents, Gamble said. There may be a new initiative for domestic violence warrants, but the information will be released later, Gamble said.
Robert Caldwell, a resident of the Weinland Park area, said he already sees a difference in his neighborhood. Caldwell is the university area commissioner representative for the Weinland Park area, and he is the moderator of the Weinland Park Area Resource Network.
Caldwell, who has worked in the neighborhood for eight years and lived in the area for four years, said he has seen significant improvement.
“An investment in crime prevention will have a significant impact,” he said. “We don’t have to wait long to see things change.”
Even with the recent rash of violence Columbus has seen, Caldwell said Weinland Park residents should not really worry because Coleman is intent on ridding the neighborhoods of crime.
“If you’re a criminal, get out of these neighborhoods or we’ll put you away,” Coleman said.
