COLUMBUS, Ohio — A several million-dollar investment is now underway in the Linden neighborhood as crews began demolition of the building at 757 Carolyn Ave. on Monday afternoon. This comes in an effort to create a Real Time Crime Center for Columbus.
City leaders gathered together to celebrate the start of this project that has been years in the making.
"We think the future is very bright because of this investment,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said.
The announcement for a proposed $7 million safety facilities project was first made two years ago. Ginther said more funding was needed before they could take this next step.
"We put the Real Time Crime Center, the next steps of actually demolishing and constructing the Real Time Crime Center, as part of our bond package that we needed approval of the voters from last fall."
With that funding secured, demolition was able to begin.
Once up and running, the center will provide a space for 911 dispatch services as well as for technical staff to analyze data that can be communicated to officers in the field.
"We are the largest city in the country without a Real Time Crime Center so this advancement means a lot for our community,” Columbus City Council public safety chair Emmanuel Remy said.
Remy said this center being located in the Linden community will be significant in helping to stabilize the neighborhood.
"When somebody gets pulled over and they're calling in a license plate, there will be crime analysts sitting in this Real Time Crime Center pouring through social media before the police officer ever gets out of the car to let them know what type of person they might be encountering," Remy said.
"It's going to help us fight crime in a smarter way,” Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.
Bryant said the center has been a long time coming, highlighting the significant advantage this facility will provide officers with while in the field.
"This going to be able to help us to collaborate with our local state and federal partners to be able to address issues in real time,” Bryant said.
"I think our officers are looking forward to going on offense and using the best innovation and intelligence that they can,” Ginther said.
The center is expected to be up and running by late 2027 or early 2028.