Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther joined leadership from the city’s public safety forces to share 2022 crime data, which shows a 33 percent drop in homicides over 2021 as well as reductions in burglaries, felonious assaults, robberies, and rapes.
“This progress speaks to the effectiveness of our updated Comprehensive Neighborhood Safety Strategy,” said Ginther. “By leveraging a broad range of prevention, intervention and enforcement tactics to reduce violence and address its root causes, we are making great strides toward improving neighborhood safety while strengthening trust and collaboration between our officers and the public.”
Columbus saw the biggest percentage drop in homicides among the 20 largest U.S. cities, in addition to Cincinnati and Cleveland. The national average for murders in big cities was a 5 percent reduction.
In addition to a dramatically reduced homicide rate in 2022, several other categories saw improvements when compared to 2021:
•Robberies decreased by 32 percent
•Burglaries decreased by 21 percent
•Felonious assaults decreased by 16 percent
•Rapes decreased by 5.7 percent
“Nothing matters more to the Columbus Division of Police than the safety of our community,” said Chief of Police Elaine Bryant. “Last year (2022) was a year of great progress for us, and we will continue to work hard and protect our city in 2023.”
Gun violence continues to have an outsized impact on the city’s homicide rate, accounting for nearly 90 percent of homicides in 2022. The Columbus Division of Police, however, has demonstrated success in reducing the number of guns throughout the community, taking more than 3,300 firearms off city streets within the last year alone – a record for the division.
“The safety of our community is on the line,” said Ginther. “We’ll do everything within our power to ensure that Columbus becomes the safest big city in America.”
