Mayor Andrew Ginther joined city safety officials Tuesday morning to announce $15 million in proposed funding for a new police substation and crime center.
Ginther said $12 million of that amount will come from the city's upcoming 2021 Capital Improvement Budget.
He added that $5 million will be dedicated to the new substation in the Hilltop, which the city hopes will not only house police officers and safety services, but also community and recreational spaces.
The other $7 million, along with an additional $3 million from carryover funding, will go towards the crime center in Linden. There, the city hopes to move their 9-1-1 dispatch services and have a dedicated space for analyzing crime data in real-time.
"We are being purposeful and intentional as we leverage and expand valuable resources and initiatives, partnerships and collaborations, to reduce violent crime and build a brighter future," Ginther said.
The city is currently negotiating to purchase land along Sullivant Avenue between Columbian and Townsend avenues for the new substation.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said the new substation will allow Hilltop residents to better partner with law enforcement in their community — especially since the current substation makes that difficult.
"This facility was built in 1965," Bryant said. "It is cramped, it is outdated, and is anything but inviting to our community."
As for the crime center — dubbed the Real-Time Crime Center — the city hopes to build it on city-owned property located on Piedmont Road in Linden.
Columbus Public Safety Director Robert Clark said the crime center will use live video feeds from neighborhood safety cameras, Shotspotter gunshot detector data, and law enforcement databases when it comes to tracking crime in real-time.
"This is an important investment in the future of public safety in our city," Clark said. "We are excited to turn this vision into a reality as we work tirelessly to make Columbus a safer place."
While funding and plans have not yet been approved in various parts of each deal, Ginther said they hope to get the substation built within the next two years, and the crime center completed in 2024.
