Two recent downtown criminal instances are prompting residents and business owners to take their concerns before the city council.
On Nov. 4, a woman was reportedly attacked by a masked man at dawn while running along First Street near the Riverwalk. On Nov. 8, two people were robbed at gunpoint while walking near Fred’s on 3rd Avenue South.
Julie Parker is a Southside resident who has helped gather support to go before the council. She said both incidents have sparked serious concerns in the community.
“The major concern is that, as a community resident, the Southside, downtown and Riverwalk area is not identified by perpetrators as an easy target area,” Parker said. “Even though it’s just two instances, we don’t want people looking to perpetrate crime to think that this area of town is a nice target to do so.”
Parker met with city officials earlier in the week to have her name added for citizen comments. She said that will allow her, and others, five minutes to express concerns to the council.
Parker said it’s hard to know how many people will show up for the council meeting – particularly because she hasn’t been the only one reaching out to residents and business owners. However, she said she’s gotten positive feedback from the people she’s interacted with.
“I think we’ll have a nice group of people representing residents and business owners who share these concerns and want to have a voice to the council,” she said. “At least 8-10 of the people that I’ve personally talked to have confirmed that they want to be there.”
Homer Beaty, owner of the Fashion Barn on Main Street, said he understands the growing concerns about downtown safety. He said its important not only for pedestrians and customers in the downtown area, but store employees.
“When we close, it’s dark and it can be scary,” he said. “Ladies have to walk to their cars and I’ll try to walk them out if they want me to.”
Both Parker and Beaty expressed a common desire for increased heightened police presence in the downtown area.
“We want to address the council to petition for a greater police presence in the downtown area or Southside so the message is clearly sent that this won’t be tolerated and that we are dedicated to maintaining the safety of our community,” Parker said.
Columbus Police Department Interim Chief Fred Shelton said the department has started deploying officers on Segways to increase police presence in the downtown area. He said the number of officers will depend on how many officers volunteer for the work. He said they would be compensated for the extra work.
“The absence of officers creates crime, so then I would say the presence of officers suppresses it,” Shelton said. “Nobody is going to commit a crime with a police officer right there around the corner or in the area and able to respond very quickly.”
Shelton said he was aware of resident concerns and discussed the issue with some last Sunday evening.
Beaty said he felt downtown Columbus’ continued safety is important for future growth.
“We have a great downtown,” he said. “I’ve been here for several, several years and never had any problems. We want our downtown to be safe — we want it to be good and vibrant.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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