Police talk about staffing, common crimes at annual Columbia Neighborhood Watch meeting
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify where concerns about vegetation can be reported.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Neighborhood Watch held its first public meeting since the pandemic at city hall Monday night.
Columbia Assistant Police Chief Jill Schlude spoke about staffing at the department during the meeting. She said that retention and hiring is still an ongoing issue. According to Schlude, there are 175 positions within the police department. Of those, 90 positions are supposed to be on patrol, but only 59 of those positions are currently filled. Schlude added that it has been difficult for officers to focus on community engagement while the department is short staffed.
Schlude also spoke about crime in the city. She said that people often post information about stolen packages and other property crimes on the NextDoor app. However, she says she has noticed police are rarely notified about those crimes.
Schlude also said that guns are being stolen from cars in Columbia and urged people to keep their items in their trunk.
Police also addressed the topic of stolen guns in the Columbia Neighborhood Watch’s July newsletter.
“Anything is better than leaving your gun in an unsecured car. Even if you think you live in a safe neighborhood, nothing is guaranteed. You can't know who is coming through your town, looking for cars to burglarize. It's always better to be safe than sorry,” police wrote in the newsletter.
At the meeting, officials said people can contact the city’s Office of Neighborhood Services about things like tall grass, cars parked on lawns and abandoned homes. In 2021, the office said it had around 900 vegetation cases and a thousand public health nuisance cases.
Officials also noted that Neighborhood Watch is willing to work with renters who would like to start a watch in their neighborhood.
The next in-person training session for Columbia Neighborhood Watch is Oct. 24 at Columbia Public Library.
