The new Ohio State University Police Substation near High Street on 11th Avenue. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
The Ohio State police unveiled its new substation south of campus on Wednesday to help advance the joint patrol program between the university and the Columbus Division of Police in the university district.
The 9,000-square-foot substation is meant to help Columbus Police and Ohio State police patrol the university district more effectively and provide a community engagement space for local residents, according to an Ohio State press release. The unveiling and press conference also drew a small crowd of protestors, who argued the area is over-policed and that the substation was unnecessary.
Located at the corner of 11th Avenue and High Street, Chris Kabourek, senior vice president of the Office of Administration at Ohio State, said the location will improve the police’s ability to patrol the area.
“It’s an investment in presence, it is an investment in accessibility and it reflects our belief that public safety is strongest when institutions show up consistently, build trust and work together,” Kabourek said.
“This location matters because it sits right where campus activity and neighborhood activity meet,” Kabourek said. “It helps ensure we are better connected, better coordinated and better positioned to help support a safe environment.”
Relaunched in July 2022, the joint patrol program is a partnership between university police and CPD intended to strengthen safety in the university district, according to the Ohio State Department of Public Safety.
“Our relationship with CPD goes above and beyond,” said Monica Moll, associate vice president of the Ohio State Department of Public Safety. “We really do work side by side to enhance safety.”
Moll said this advancement will help students connect directly to university resources that are otherwise unknown to them.
Along with the new facility, Officer Doug Welker, a part of the joint patrol program at this substation, said there will be more officer activity in the area.
“You might just see more officers in this space and some cruisers parked in the alley,” Welker said.
Welker said he hopes this substation will promote greater communication between the residents of the university district and the law enforcement officials there to protect them.
“When the officers working this area understand the problems in the community and the community’s concerns, the more we’re able to do to make people feel more safe,” Welker said.
Not everyone was happy about the new facility.
During the media event, a group of seven protesters outside of the substation arrived with bullhorns and noise-making devices, opposing the opening of the substation in what they said was an over-policed area.
In addition, the group chanted “Abolish ICE” and “Drop the student charges now,” after the anti-ICE protest on Tuesday resulted in three people getting arrested, two of them students.
The protesters said they were concerned with the expansion of the campus police into the communities surrounding campus, which have been historically minority neighborhoods.
“They have been increasingly moved out of this area and overpoliced,” Kat Finneran, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of geography, said.
The group also said they were there to make a statement about the changes to protesting rules on campus and their concern for these rules expanding to the off-campus communities. Bullhorns and noisemakers are not allowed for on-campus protests, according to Ohio State’s space standards.
“We aren’t allowed to use these — the bullhorns — on campus anymore,” Finneran said. “We are using them today simply because we are a few feet away from campus.”
Another protester, who requested anonymity, said the arrests were intended to deter future demonstrations.
“They’re trying to make a statement to stop protesting on campus,” he said. Asked whether he believed First Amendment rights were under threat, he responded, “One hundred percent, not just on campus, but nationwide.”
Despite the backlash outside the station, Ohio State police officials said they want this facility to be a community-centered space for everyone’s benefit.
“The space is big enough that we can host self-defense classes or even community police academy within these walls,” Dennis Jeffrey, chief of the university police, said.
Jeffrey said he thinks students should use this space to get to know their law enforcement officials and learn about safety in the university district.
“We are an extension of the classroom — here to help our students learn and grow,” Jeffrey said.
