COLUMBUS, Ohio — Twenty-five people lost their lives in the city of Columbus in 2023 because of domestic violence, which represents a more than 250% increase from the year before when there were seven such deaths.
“I want Columbus to know we are working,” said Malissa Thomas-St. Clair, founder of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children.
Thomas-St. Clair knows what it is like to lose a child to homicide in Columbus. She has taken her grief and turned it into motivation to help reduce homicides in the city.
“All of the organizations that were birthed out of COVID, 501c3s like myself, grassroots, bringing everyone together, appropriate allocation of funding has been happening to those who are supporting the community and the hearts of the community,” she said.
As of Dec. 26, there were 148 homicides in Columbus, which is the third most in the city's history. Here are the year-to-date numbers for the last four years:
- 2022: 131
- 2021: 189
- 2020: 158
- 2019: 99
“With the age group of 13-18 we did see an increase in crime that resulted in homicide, victims and offenders. That's why our intentionality has to be in that age group. Not to mention we have to use the data to drive what we are doing,” she said.
“If we look at the last decade, crime has risen. Homicides have risen. That's great that we were down a little last year from the year before, but it is still the third highest and it is nothing to celebrate,” said Columbus Police Sergeant Brian Steel and the Vice President of the local Fraternal Order of Police.
Steel says the best way to decrease the number of homicides this year is looking into the numbers from last year.
“Let's talk about the number one killer of a Black man under 44 is homicide and by a firearm, specifically, a handgun. If we don't focus on this problem, we are never going to get a solution,” Steel said.
While the number of homicides increased in 2023 from the year before, Thomas-St. Clair is hopeful crime prevention tactics will decrease homicides in 2024.
“Now I see a glimmer of hope in which we are going to collectively come together and really unify our efforts in an intentional way,” Thomas-St. Clair said.
Columbus police is solving more homicides, about 10% more this past year than the year before.