The city of Columbus employs 54 full-time police officers. City leadership wants to raise that to 77.
That is what Mayor Robert Smith told about 100 residents who came to a Thursday night meeting held to address crime in the Columbus community. The meeting was held at the Columbus High School auditorium.
The mayor asked members of the city council who were present to support increasing the police department’s budget to allow for 10 additional officers.
CPD is budgeted for 67. CPD Interim Chief Fred Shelton also wants to bring the number of full-time officers to 77. The mayor did not say how much adding an additional 10 officers would cost.
Smith and Shelton also announced at the meeting that a warrant has been issued for the suspect in a shooting on Maple Street on Monday night, during which several shots were fired at an occupied residence. Smith said the suspect should be in custody before the end of the weekend.
The mayor also promised to work with Columbus Light & Water to improve the lighting in some of the city’s darker areas, to cut down on crime and generally make parts of the city safer. He also asked citizens in the community to cooperate with police officers investigating crimes and to find non-violent solutions to problems.
District Attorney Scott Colom also spoke at the meeting, promising to prosecute violent criminals as quickly as possible.
“We are not going to tolerate violence,” he said. “We are particularly not going to tolerate it when it comes to guns.”
Shelton gave a presentation entitled “Bridging the Gap between the Police and Community” in which he discussed ways the public and the CPD can work together to stop crime.
He first went over laws about guns in the city of Columbus. There is a city ordinance against discharging firearms within city limits, he said. He also told attendees that it is illegal for minors to have firearms unless they are hunting and that it is illegal for convicted felons to have guns. He encouraged anyone who wants to learn how to shoot to go to the police department’s new firing range near Yorkville Road and let officers train them.
Shelton spent a lot of the presentation asking parents to discipline their children and asking attendees to call the police when they see school-aged children on the streets between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“Parents, don’t let the streets raise your children,” he said.
He promised to increase patrols around the city and asked churches and churchgoers in the area to invite at-risk youth to church and youth programs.
He also emphasized the need for people in the community to call 911 and cooperate with the CPD if they see crimes or anything suspicious.
Several attendees asked questions, mainly about ways for the CPD and people in the community to reach at-risk youth, especially kids who don’t go to school or have churches. Others asked questions about how to educate people, particularly youth, about laws and ordinances, leading to discussions about how to use social media and other ways to reach the city.
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