Crime is down in Columbus.
The city has seen 81 homicides so far this year, which Mayor Andrew Ginther said is the lowest number since about 2007.
"One homicide's too many, but a significant amount of progress in making our city safer, healthier and stronger," Ginther said Monday.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said detectives solved 69 of this year's homicide cases, as well as 30 homicides from previous years.
"That's significant because we want families to know we don't forget about you. Just when the years pass. We continue to work cases. We continue to try to make sure that we're bringing justice to our families," Bryant said.
Bryant said felonious assaults are also down by about 500 cases over two years.
Ginther said one notable exception to the overall trend is domestic violence homicides. He said the city is "not going in the right direction," when it comes to that specific type of crime.
"Domestic violence is a community issue. The police cannot solve that problem for us," Ginther said. "And so I'm going to need faith leaders, business community leaders, other community partners, for all of us to step up our efforts around that."
Ginther said the community and the police are already working closer together than ever, as the Columbus Division of Police received a record number of tips this year.
"That's also helping us with our closure rates and our ability to take dangerous people off the streets," Ginther said.
Ginther and Bryant touted the success of the city's non-fatal shooting pilot program. The 18-month program in the South Linden and Milo-Grogan neighborhoods sought to reduce future violence by treating non-fatal shootings with the same rigor as homicides.
Bryant previously said police solved about 75% of the non-fatal shootings in the pilot program, compared to the 46% of cases they usually solve.
The program is expected to expand in 2026, though Ginther and Bryant didn't provide specific details.
When asked about a series of accidental shootings involving children discovering firearms in homes, Ginther said the city has provided gun locks and gun safety education in the past.
"Rights come with responsibilities. And if you're a gun owner, you need to be responsible. You need to lock that gun up at home," Ginther said.
Ginther and Bryant had no updates on federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement activity in the city, and reiterated that city leaders are not in communication with federal agents.
