In the wake of Friday afternoon’s shooting that left four injured near Sim Scott Park, Columbus officials say they are putting in place a plan to aggressively combat crime in several Columbus neighborhoods where criminal conduct has spiked in recent months.
CPD Chief Tony Carleton and other Columbus officials will hold community meetings in three areas of the city that have been plagued by criminal conduct.
One of those areas is the neighborhood around Sim Scott Park.
Friday’s daylight shooting, which left four injured and sent numerous other panic-stricken bystanders running down the street, was a shocking blow even to a neighborhood no stranger to crime.
Police are still looking for suspects in the shooting and no motive has been offered.
Mayor Robert Smith and Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem were in the neighborhood soon after the shooting, trying to calm the fears of residents and assuring them meaningful steps will be taken to ensure their safety.
Residents approached by a Dispatch reporter Friday not long after the shooting, were noticeably fearful, not willing to provide their names to the reporter for fear of reprisal from those who were responsible for Friday’s shooting. Their reluctance to talk suggests residents are not entirely confident police are able to ensure their safety.
Officials promise a bold response. The CPD will step up patrols in the area, including adding additional officers to patrol the neighborhood on foot and on bicycles.
We welcome a greater police presence in neighborhoods that have been most susceptible to crime, and we particularly applaud the addition of foot and bicycle patrols, which we feel provides an opportunity for relationship building between officers and residents.
We urge a measured response, however. There is a line that distinguishes community policing and establishing a police state. Residents welcome the former, but as for the latter, no one wants to feel as though they live in an armed camp nor do they want to be viewed as suspects on the streets were they live.
Executed properly, a greater police presence in these areas can produces safer neighborhoods, but this approach will not work without a real commitment that remains long after the shock of Friday’s shooting has passed.
Like any other relationship, the bond of trust forged between police and citizens requires time. There is no fast-track approach, no quick-fix. This should not be viewed or enacted as a temporary, emergency measure to be forgotten when tensions ease. It should be a standard ongoing approach to crime prevention.
This will require not only a commitment from the police department and the city, which must provide the resources the police department requires to address these serious problems.
We applaud the city and its police department and encourage them to make the long-term commitment the situation demands.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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