Columbus working to stop homicides before they happen

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Columbus Division of Police has created a new team focused on disrupting the cycle of violence: the Non-Fatal Shoot Team.  

The division is piloting that program in zone six: the South Linden and Milo Grogan areas. Police leadership said that just after eight months, they are seeing success.  

The team is made up of eight detectives and two patrol officers focused on increasing the solvability rates of those cases of non-fatal shootings.  

“If we can stop it before it happens, then there wouldn't be no need to go to another funeral,” Patricia Duckworth said.  

Duckworth, the academy director of Clever Bee Academy in Linden, said she has seen first hand how violence in the area impacts kids.  

“Working with these children day in and day out, where the child used to come in calm and happy come in now, they’re mean,” she said. “They don't want to listen to any authority and they're just acting out.” 

Columbus police said they have found it is a small group of people continuously engaging in crime in that area 

“It seems like every shooting correlates to another one that we've had in the past,” Columbus Police Sgt. Scott Soha said. “Once you sit and, you know, get into these cases, suspects become victims of other crimes and those just seem not to stop and that's one way to stop, you know, nonfatal shootings as well as homicides that, you know, these shootings are inches in, seconds away from being homicides.”  

The division said the goal of the non-fatal shoot team is to get those shooters off the streets before they can pull the trigger again. Columbus Police Lt. Julie Williams with the felony assault unit said something that is helping that team is consistency.   

“It's a 24-7 response, so you have the same detectives coming out so they're seeing, for instance, the shooting that happened yesterday,” Williams said. “They have the same names coming up where it may take detectives longer to get to that information versus they were out last night in the same area.” 

Williams said the members of the non-fatal shoot team are strictly dedicated to zone six. Typically officers could be called out to a shooting in one area of the city and quickly get called to a shooting in a different area. She said these detectives are able to focus on only non-fatal shooting cases in zone six and work them until they are solved.  

The data shows since starting the program on March 8 to now, there have been 40 call outs to the area, with 64 percent of those cases solved. Police said the program has also helped the detectives solve 44 previously unsolved cases in the area. 

Williams said the team is already making a difference.  

“We're seeing it in the solvability,” she said. “I think the detectives that are involved also are very much enjoying the work. And the biggest thing is I think they're enjoying the time that they have to be able to follow up.” 

Williams said people in those areas are starting to recognize the detectives and interact with them. She said this team works first shift with the exception of being called out to shootings in the middle of the night. Williams said the schedule is done that way so they have access to the crime lab and to build relationships with city prosecutors and parole officers. 

Ralph Carter, the founder of the non-profit We Are Linden, said he’s noticing a shift from the community as well.

“I think the community is finally responding,” he said. “Individuals are waking up knowing that we have to, you know, bring that village back.” 

Columbus police said it chose to start the program in zone six because that is where the most crime is being reported. The chief hopes to eventually expand the program to the entire city.