Columbus police statistics for the summer safety initiative, or summer strike force, show officers made 402 arrests, and confiscated 87 firearms and nearly 2 1/2 kilograms of heroin from late May through late August.
Ending the program and redistributing the money toward neighborhood initiatives will likely happen next year, when City Council approves Mayor Andy Ginther's budget request. The People's Justice Project, the group criticized policing, says the metrics for any annual anti-crime program should include a focus on the wellbeing of families. Spokesperson Tammy Fournier-Alsaada says she's encouraged by one recommendation in the Columbus police report released yesterday for a policy in which plainclothes officers work in direct proximity to uniformed officers.
