One of the most interesting aspects of Columbia’s recent mayoral contest was the debate over the perceived level of criminal activity in our community. While most of the dialogue centered specifically around incidents in downtown Columbia, there seemed to be an equal amount of concern regarding what was happening in neighborhoods throughout our city which have traditionally been isolated from the all-too-common reports of shots fired, drug activity, vandalism and theft.
As I’m penning this column, our community is dealing with the aftermath of a particularly violent weekend. What started on April 11 as a nine-hour police standoff with a suspect who had made terroristic threats quickly evolved into a weekend with at least three confirmed shootings resulting in five gunshot victims. This, by coincidence, came less than three days after a large majority of voters chose to stay the course with the status quo governance of a mayor and city council.
While Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude is making significant progress in rebuilding a department that has been severely understaffed for several years, she lacks the authority to bring her force up to the minimum standards for protecting a city the size of Columbia. Conservative estimates say we need more than 50 additional officers to adequately cover our streets. Unfortunately, there’s a big price tag that comes with that type of staffing.
There are rumors circulating that our mayor and city manager are getting ready to ask voters to approve a new sales tax to fund additional officers. I find myself conflicted on the matter. On one hand, I believe we desperately need more officers. On the other hand, a sales tax is NOT the way to fix this problem.
The city has quietly found a way to add 122 new positions to its budget in the last three years to provide services that are far from essential. Given the current climate and concern over public safety, we should all be asking why putting more officers on the street has not been a higher priority in recent years.
Rather than tightening the belt in other departments, city officials will want to fund police the same way we fund our parks. By my way of thinking, police and fire protection are essential services and deserve the priority of general revenue in the city’s annual budget. Citizens should not have to pay “extra” to get the police protection they deserve.
This strategy is the perfect scheme for Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and City Manager D’Carlon Seawood who many say don’t support our men and women in blue. If voters reject the idea of using sales taxes to fund police protection, we’ll hear the tired refrain, “Oh well, we tried … but the citizens didn’t want to spend more money on cops.” Rather than trimming the funding for cultural affairs, sustainability and other nonessential services, they want local taxpayers to cough up more money.
It’s important to mention that hiring more officers won’t make Columbia’s crime problem go away. As a community, we’re going to have to come up with a multifaceted approach that hits this problem from all sides. Those who understand our dilemma best will tell you that illegal drug use is connected to almost every violent act in our city. We must find a way to eliminate the demand for drugs in our community. Gangsters and drug dealers from Kansas City and St. Louis will stop preying on Columbia if demand begins to dry up. We must also find a way to give our youth a sense of hope about their futures.
This should begin in our public schools. If the prospects of opportunity were more evident, our youth would not be tempted by the allure of criminal activity as a means of survival. Finally, we’ve got to be more intentional about creating economic opportunities in our central city. If you want to break free from the cycle of poverty and crime, you need a job. In order to get a job, you need stable housing, reliable public transportation and affordable childcare. There’s a dire shortage of all three of those things right now in Columbia.
There may be a temptation for some of us to stick our heads in the sand and say, “I’ve got a job. My kids are in college. I’m making my mortgage payments.” At this point, the problems facing our community belong to all of us. If we choose to do nothing, we’ll continue to be subject to drive-by shootings, home invasions and stolen cars.
Today’s problems will only get worse if we don’t address the root causes. If we, instead, put our heads together, work collaboratively and chip away at these core issues one at a time, there’s a good chance we can create the change we’re looking for.
Given last month’s voter participation rate of 25.18%, it’s clear we’ve got a long way to go.
