COLUMBUS – City officials say a stepped-up crackdown on violence in the Short North area will continue over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend as mayors and police officials around the U.S. roll out strategies in response to the traditional summer bump in violent crime.
The push for more police and community involvement comes despite a continuing decline in homicides and other violent crimes that spiked in 2020.
Columbus police will continue heightened prevention efforts on the heels of last week’s implementation of an anticrime initiative dubbed “Operation Burnout,” which resulted in multiple arrests and the seizure of weapons and drugs in the area.
The neighborhood along N. High Street, north of Downtown, was free of the gun violence it saw the two previous weekends, Mayor Andrew Ginther and Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.
“We want to keep the momentum going into the summer, and ask for the continued partnership of the public to ensure a safe, fun weekend for all,” Bryant said.
Bars and restaurants are asked to voluntarily close at midnight and food-truck vendors are prohibited from operating after midnight within a designated Short North “congestion zone.”
Nearly a dozen people were injured on back-to-back weekends this month in shooting incidents, including one involving a Columbus police officer.
Police will be cracking down on a variety of offenses, ranging from disorderly conduct, underage drinking and open beverage container violations, to obstructing a city right of way, excessive noise and street racing.
Police say highest levels of violence and other criminal activity have been reported between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., coinciding with peak periods of pedestrian traffic.
Parents are being asked to enforce the city’s curfew law, which requires anyone between the ages of 13 and 17 be off the streets from midnight to 4:30 a.m., Bryant said.
Officials in Cleveland; Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia have also announced summer plans to make officers more of a visible presence in locations where violent crimes have happened, while also promoting community efforts to prevent violence and provide alternative activities.