Newly instated Columbus police chief Oscar Lewis made one of his first public appearances Thursday evening at a neighborhood watch program for Southside at the Trotter Convention Center.
Lewis spoke about what he wanted to achieve as head of the Columbus Police Department and answered questions from attendees at the meeting.
“My main goal here is to reduce the crime rate,” he said. “Bottom line.”
He also promised to hire more officers and make sure all the police are doing what they need to do to stop crime and have the training necessary to communicate and work with the public.
Lewis told Southside residents that when he first became chief in Waynesboro about two years ago, the city had just seen several high profile murders. People in the city lived in fear and did not feel as though they could count on law enforcement. Now crime in Waynesboro has decreased dramatically, he said, adding that the last high-profile violence crime it saw was a shooting at a night club last July, and the night club was subsequently closed.
Lewis promised Columbus would see the same trend.
“At the end, I think you’ll see the crime rate will go down and people will feel safer,” Lewis said.
Fire Chief Martin Andrews of Columbus Fire & Rescue also spoke to the 20 or so attendees at the neighborhood watch meeting. In particular, he spoke about the steps the fire department and CPD have taken to patrol the area where the shooting at the Princess Theater happened on Feb. 6. Andrews promised he was working with the night club’s owner to control the sizes of the crowd and ensure that both night club patrons and residents in the area were safe.
Brent Swan, Captain of Criminal Investigation Division at the CPD also spoke about the importance of civilians talking to police about violent crimes that are committed in the city.
Most of the shootings that have happened in Columbus over the last few months are all the same two groups of people who don’t like each other and are using guns to solve their problems, Swan said.
“It’s not a large group that is taking over Columbus and wreaking havoc,” he said.
He promised the CPD could arrest the shooters and other violent criminals if people who know who they are are willing to come forward. He asked those at the meeting to speak to their neighbors about going to the police with suspicions and information.
“One arrest matters,” he said. “One statement matters.”
Swan also answered questions from attendees, saying the shootings are not gang related but some of them are drug-related. He also encouraged people to not be scared to live their lives, but to take precautions.
The Southside neighborhood watch program is the sixth such watch program in Columbus, according to Community Police Officer Rhonda Sanders.
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