Final community policing meeting held in Ward 2

The Columbia Police Department held the final community policing meeting in Ward 2 Thursday night.

It was the seventh meeting the city has held after the Columbia city council passed a resolution in February to develop a community policing model for the department.

Sgt. Robert Fox has been leading the meetings and will present a report to the Columbia city council with his recommendations in late August. He has said the adoption of a community policing model will have a positive effect on the community and help deter crime.

“The point of community oriented policing is that we’re engaged with the public, we’re building bridges with communities who perhaps historically haven’t had good relationships with the police,” Fox told ABC 17 News at an earlier meeting. “The pressure has been on beat officers to go from call to call and to get the information and be on to the next call, and that’s not healthy for either the officer, the department or the city.”

It’s still unclear how the city will fund the initiative. City Manager Mike Matthes said a property tax is one possibility. He also said the city could bring in new revenue now that transactions online are taxable.

“We have to decide how much we want this, and if we do, it will require paying for it,” Matthes said.

While not all residents are on board, some said they do support the initiative.

“Anything to save our city,” one resident told ABC 17 News at the meeting.