It”s been a slow week in the business of crime.
“It was a good week,” Columbus Police Chief Joseph St. John said, in releasing crime statistics for the week of May 5 through May 11.
Police dealt with 78 incidents, including 12 assaults, either verbal or physical, six cases of stolen property, 16 accidents and 17 miscellaneous incidents.
The CPD uses the weekly reports to assess “hot spots” of criminal activity; CPD officers then focus on those “problem areas,” St. John reported.
“Trends we have (seen) are it”s real obvious we have areas way affected more than others,” he explained, noting the “central beat,” largely comprised of Ward 5 and areas on the north side of downtown, is the most affected; the central beat includes areas from Military Road to Main Street.
“The patterns we see, some are surprising, but we pretty much confirm (with the weekly statistics) what we already know our hot spots are,” St. John added.
Normally, the highest amount of calls officers respond to involve traffic accidents. Disturbances of various nature are the second highest number of calls received.
“The majority of stuff we deal with is nonviolent,” St. John said. “(And) there are actually areas of Columbus that are absent of crime.”
Having five police substations — including substations in “hot spot” areas of East Columbus, Oak Manor and Sim Scott Park — will help with “future plans” for community policing, St. John said.
An officer is expected soon to occupy the CPD”s new substation in The CPI Group building, located in downtown Columbus.
And three bikes are being ordered for officers to use on a part-time basis for patrols.
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