Crime & Safety Analysis

AUTUMN 2017

KNOWLTON SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE CITY & REGIONAL PLANNING

LINDEN CRIME & SAFETY ANALYSIS

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INTRODUCTION Linden Neighborhood Studio Crime & Safety Analysis

Safety is an integral part of community health and well-being. Healthy environments can safeguard communities against excess stress and trauma due to real or perceived mental and physical harm. Every neighborhood aims to be considered safe by both residents and visitors. However, some areas struggle with dangerous reputations.

A neighborhood’s reputation may originate with observed on-the-ground criminal activities; however, this can quickly become exaggerated through stereotype and stigma (especially if fueled by persistent outside media attention).

Christy Wiseman

Linden is a neighborhood that has struggled with an unsafe reputation. Disproportionately affected by the housing crisis of 2007-2012, Linden contains a number of vacant and abandoned properties.

This blight, coupled with historic disinvestment along its main commercial corridor, Cleveland Avenue, has left much of Linden in poor physical condition. Unfortunately, visible decay of the built environment decreases perception of safety.

Michael Outrich

Hayley Feightner

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Lauren Bell

LINDEN’S PERCEPTION IN THE MEDIA is “Teen charged with bringing a loaded handgun to LindenMcKinley STEM Academy,” written November 30, 2017.

Neighborhood reputation is often shaped by outsiders’ perceptions more than by residents’. This manifests in local media. A search of the Columbus Dispatch website for news articles containing the word “Linden” clearly reveals this phenomena. The entire first page of results, 10 articles, are directly related to specific crimes. When restricting the search to opinion pieces, editorials commenting on police-community relations vastly outnumber any other topic.

Linden’s negative attention is not limited to traditional media sources. A search for “Linden Columbus Ohio” on YouTube yields 7,570 results. A clear majority of the videos relate to crime in some way, from NBC4 news clips “Body found in North Linden neighborhood” and “Strong batch of heroin leads to 35 overdose calls in Linden area” to homemade videos with titles such as “Linden, Hoods of Columbus Ohio at night” and “Columbus’ Vacant House Epidemic.”

Headlines include, “Tired of gun violence, South Linden area residents look to Columbus for answers” (October 24, 2016), and “Two Columbus murder victims identified; two men charged in one case” (November 23, 2017),. An article from February 25, 2016 titled “‘East Clintonville’? Some North Linden residents want to rebrand neighborhood” describes the ambitions of a few North Linden residents who wish to change the name of their area (south of Cooke Road, west of Karl Road, north of East North Broadway and east of I-71) to “East Clintonville.”

According to the longtime residents, North Linden “carries a negative connotation… [south of Weber Road] has dilapidated houses, absentee slumlords and poverty.” “There is a stigma” associated with Linden, notes one of the residents. “There is a perception.” The most recent Dispatch article about Linden

These examples illustrate Linden’s reputation of being a crime-ridden neighborhood. Its stigma may be rooted in real crime events, but outside media attention exacerbates the situation. Unfortunately, as people avoid what they believe to be dangerous areas, there are fewer eyes on the street to deter crime. This cycle creates a positive feedback loop that can be hard to break without serious intervention.

This semester, our technical team sought to explore the connection between empirical crime data and subjective perception of safety in Linden.

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“BODY FOUND IN NORTH LINDEN NEIGHBORHOOD” June 8, 2016, NBC4

“‘EAST CLINTONVILLE ’? SOME NORTH LINDEN RESID ENTS WANT TO REBRAND NEIGHB ORHOOD” No vember 20, 2017, Columbus

Dispatch

“STRONG BATCH OF HEROIN LEADS TO 35 OVERDOSE CALLS IN LINDEN AREA” September 28, 2016, NBC4

“TIRED OF GUN VIOLE NCE, SOUTH LINDEN AREA RESIDE NTS LOOK TO COLUMBUS FOR A NSWERS” October 24, 2016, Columbus Dis

patch

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CRIME ANALYSIS Crime datasets from January 2014 to December 2016 were downloaded from the Columbus Police Department.

The crime incidents were then designated as either property crime or violent crime for the purposes of analysis. The property crime category includes Motor Vehicle Theft, Breaking and Entering, Arson, Vandalism, Criminal Damaging, Felony Theft, and Other Thefts. The violent crime category includes Homicide, Discharged Firearms, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Domestic Violence, and Other Physical Assaults. Crime designations were used according to types classified by the FBI reporting system.

The crime incidents were evaluated by crime type, day of the week the crime was committed, month the crime was committed, and weapon type used

The data were then compiled and analyzed to find potential trends. The crime incidents were evaluated by crime type, day of the week the crime was committed, month the crime was committed, and weapon type used.

5%

of all crimes involve a firearm

1 in 3

crimes are classified as violent

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33%

of violent crimes are domestic assault

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Property Crime by Type

Current conditions as indicated by 2016 Columbus Police data

Property crimes account for 65% of all crimes reported in Linden during 2016. Burglary, criminal damaging, and misdemeanor theft were the most common Breaking and Entering/Bulglary Other Theft Felony Theft property crimes. Violent crimes account for 35% of all Motor Vehicle Theft Vandalism/Criminal Damage Arson crimes for the three year period.

Assault and domestic violence were by far the most common violent crimes.

As for yearly cycles, crime generally peaks in the summer months. July and August had slightly more reports than other months, with 9.9% and 9.8% respectively. February had the lowest number of incidents, with just 5.5%.

Most of the crimes either did not involve a weapon (67.4%) or the weapon was unknown (10.9%). 12.6% of crimes involved a personal weapon, such as hands or teeth. However, there is a concerning amount of firearm activity that accounts for 6.2% of all crimes.

Handguns were the most common firearm, appearing in 167 crime incidents during 2016.

One might think that crime would vary throughout the week, peaking on Saturday and Sunday when more people are at home as opposed to work. Interestingly, crimes were spread evenly across all seven days, with only around a 1% increase from the norm on Fridays Violent Crime by Type and a 1% decrease on Sundays.

1600

VIOLENT CRIME BY TYPE 2014 THROUGH 2016

1400 1200 1000

Assault Homicide Domestic Violence Robbery Rape/Sexual Robbery Assault Discharged Firearms Homicide Assault

Domestic Violence

Rape/Sexual Assault

Discharged Firearms

800 600 400 200 0

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ALL CRIMES BY MONTH 2014 THROUGH 2016

HOTSPOT TRENDS Hotspots emerged on the maps that point to areas that have the highest changes in crime density.

Crime classifications within Linden were reported and included in the crime count section of this report. Once the types of crimes were classified into their respective categories, geospatial analysis was conducted using ArcGIS point density tool for each respective year (2014, 2015, 2016) for all crime and both violent crime and property crime individually. The crime density change maps were completed using ArcGIS map algebra tool in the raster analysis toolset. This yielded maps which report a decrease or increase in crime in the Linden area.

Property Crime was found to decrease along the much of East 11th Avenue, Hamilton Avenue, the blocks between Greenwich Street, and Cleveland Avenue from East Hudson Street to Weber Road. Property crime was found to increase in the Rosewood Neighborhood mostly south of Windsor Avenue and East of Cleveland Avenue. Another cluster of increases was in North Linden between East Hudson and East Weber Roads mainly west of Atwood Terrace in the vicinity of Audubon Park. That neighborhood had some of the strongest increases in property crime in the study area.

Violent Crime was found to decrease along the Cleveland Avenue corridor from Duxberry Avenue all

the way to East Weber Road. Violent Crime declined in the vicinity of East 17th and Hamilton Avenues and around East Hudson Street and McGuffey Road. Violent crime was found to increase along the Cleveland Avenue corridor south of East 11th to I-71 including the Four Corners area. Much of Linden north of East Hudson Street reported increases in violent crime between Atwood Terrace and Greenwich Street south of East Weber Road. North and east of Hamilton STEM reported increases in violent crime as well.

Crimes involving a firearm have increased across the majority of Linden with the only exceptions being in the Rosewind Neighborhood and along East 17th Avenue. Slight decreases were also noted in the area around East Hudson Street and McGuffey Road as well as along Dresen Street near Linden-McKinley STEM High School. Strong increases were found in the Four Corners area and along Cleveland Avenue to Windsor Avenue. Additional strong increases were found north of East 11th Avenue to near East Hudson Street across the central part of South Linden. North of East Hudson also observed strong increases in gun crimes with only a few spots (mentioned earlier) observing slight decreases.

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Crimes/ Square Mile 0 - 100 101 - 250 251 - 500 501 - 750 751 - 1000 1001 - 1500 1501 - 2000 Over 2000 1 inch = 0.28 miles

Change in Density Strongest Decreases Decrease Slight Decrease Little Change Slight Increase Increase Strongest Increases 1 inch = 0.28 miles

2016 All Crime Density Map The map above depicts the overall reported crime density in Linden during 2016. The total number of crime reports in the neighborhood was 2,592 reports. Crime reports cluster around the Cleveland Avenue and East Weber Road Intersection, Windsor Avenue and Cleveland Avenue Intersections, Hudson and McGuffey Road Intersection and around St. Clair Avenue around East 22nd Avenue.

Change in Violent Crime Density 2014 vs 2016 This map depicts the change in violent crime density in Linden between the years 2014 and 2016. The total number of violent crimes reported in Linden in 2014 was 1,043 reports. The total number of violent crimes reported in Linden in 2016 was 1,040 reports. Despite roughly the same level of reports, areas within Linden had more of a spike in reports. The red areas on the map depict the strongest increases while the bluer areas depict the strongest decreases.

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Change in Density Strongest Decreases Decrease Slight Decrease Little Change Slight Increase Increase Strongest Increases 1 inch = 0.28 miles

Change in Crimes involving a Firearm 2014 vs 2016 This map depicts the change in crimes involving a firearm density in Linden between the years 2014 and 2016. The total number of these crimes reported in Linden in 2014 was 136 reports. The total number of these crimes reported in Linden in 2016 was 207 reports. The number of crimes involving a firearm in Linden has increased by 52.2%. The red areas on the map depict the strongest increases while the bluer areas depict the strongest decreases.

Change in Property Crime Density 2014 vs 2016 This map depicts the change in property crime density in Linden between the years 2014 and 2016. The total number of property crimes reported in Linden in 2014 was 1,852 reports. The total number of property crimes reported in Linden in 2016 was 1,551 reports. Despite a decrease in the number of reports, a few areas within Linden had more of a spike in reports. The red areas on the map depict the strongest increases while the bluer areas depict the strongest decreases.

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CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT The citizen engagement process was used to compare the data hotspots to areas of concern by the community.

social connections, and recognize trauma (Weinstein, Wolin, Rose, page 12). This creates an outcome which is sustainable at the both individual and collective levels.

The approach to the community engagement component of Linden’s crime and safety analysis was primarily derived from the Trauma Informed Community Building model with elements informed by the Asset-Based Community Development model.

The approach to the community engagement component also sought guidance from the ABCD model, which addresses issues with needs assessment-based strategies through its focus on existing community assets. As with the TICB model, the ABCD model is an alternative to the traditional approach. Linden experiences challenges due to external negative stereotyping that associates images of crime and violence to its identity. The traditional model exacerbates these frustrations by emphasizing this facet of its challenges, which primarily exist as a result of intergenerational poverty and a history of disenfranchisement.

In communities with similar challenges as Linden, it is difficult to overcome the effects of traumas resulting from concentrated poverty and/or deeprooted histories of disenfranchisement with the “traditional� approach to revitalizing neighborhoods.

In these places, the traditional model can serve as a barrier to overcoming these challenges and/or cause re-traumatization triggers. The TICB model has been developed as an alternative approach to the traditional approach because it is responds to community climates through strategies that deescalate chaos and stress, foster resiliency, strengthen

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OBJECTIVES & GUIDING PRINCIPLES In this activity, it was imperative to clearly understand the community’s perception of safety in their neighborhood.

The following sections will discuss the objectives of the mapping activity and how the models were employed to guide the community engagement portion of this analysis.

The objective of the mapping activity was to achieve a greater understanding of how community members spatially perceive safety in their neighborhood. To reach this objective, the activity was divided into two sub-objectives: (1) identification and (2) annotation.

These results, coupled with the analysis conducted through mapping crime data from the Columbus Police Department, is intended to provide a robust overview of safety in the Linden area to later address through contextsensitive solutions.

The following guiding principles were used in the approach to the activity plan and the crafting of the prompt. These principles were derived from the TICB and ABCD model.

1. Deliberative in prompts and plan in terms of text, sequence, and flexibility 2. Exercising cultural objectives

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humility

while

meeting

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MAPPING PROMPT: Linden STEM Academy

A key aspect of community well-being is that all people feel safe and comfortable. Take a moment to think about your community of Linden.

Columbus Alternative High School

Part 1 Before marking on the map, locate where you live and where you spend the most time in your neighborhood.

After orienting yourself, try to think about the locations where you feel the most comfortable and safe.

Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen

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Using the green stickers, mark these locations. Feel free to use as many or as few stickers as you want.

While you mark these locations, think about what aspects of the environment contributes to it being a safe space (adequate lighting, sidewalks, etc.).

•

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Linden McKinley

Use the black marker to annotate the “green” spaces with comments if you like. It might be helpful to number the stickers and indicate in the comments which marker you are referencing.

Part 2 Next, identify the areas on the map that you are more likely to avoid or that make you feel uncomfortable.

Linden Market

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Using the red stickers, mark these locations. Feel free to use as many or as few stickers as you want.

While you mark these locations, think about what aspects of the environment contributes to it being a place you are more likely to avoid (inadequate lighting, lack of good sidewalks, etc.).

Hamilton STEM Academy

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Use the black marker to annotate the “red” spaces with comments if you like. It might be helpful to number the stickers and indicate in the comments which marker you are referencing.

NOTES: Don’s Quick Stop

St Stephens Community House

Douglas Community Recreation

School Community Center Island Vibes Restaurant/Retail

Windsor STEM Academy School J Hot Fish

in which people choose to visit or avoid because of safety issues.

The activity plan is shown in the figure on the left. This plan is logistically structured but allows for flexibility in community discussion. The introduction to the project includes a specific explanation to ensure that the public’s interpretation aligns with the intent and objectives of the activity.

The opportunity for annotation was also provided on the handout to try to gain an understanding of the reasoning that influenced the identification of “green” and “red” areas. This provided an outlet for participants to explain their thoughts privately if they chose not to share their thoughts aloud.

The individual component was included as the first part of the mapping activity to allow participants time to reflect on the prompt and evaluate their personal feelings regarding the questions provided.

The image above shows the handout distributed to the participants in this part of the program. Here, the guiding principles informed the approach of the prompt. The prompt was deliberately framed within a “feeling” perspective in order to capture the areas

The group activity component was intended to provide opportunity for collective meaningful discussion. The activity sheet provides a series of potential discussion questions to guide the activity toward meeting its objectives. These questions were also chosen deliberately, but have no sequence to allow for flexibility during the activity.

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RESULTS FROM CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT The results from the citizen engagement process centered around infrastructure, mobility, and access issues within the Linden Community.

This activity was completed during the Health and Safety Working Group Meeting organized by the Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) at St. Stephen’s Community House on October 11, 2017. The Health and Safety Working Group is one of five topical Working Group committees (also including Transportation, Small Business and Retail, Education and Workforce, and Housing) that meet to discuss ideas for solutions and opportunities in the neighborhood. These ideas are intended to guide a final document for the neighborhood, which is also organized through the NDC. The activity plan was received and reviewed by the Neighborhood Design Center. The activity was facilitated

by Sadicka & Associates, LLC. There were approximately 7-10 community members at the October 11th meeting who participated in the activity, with only a handful of participants who actually live in Linden.

The responses from the group component of the exercise is visually depicted in the images to the right. The comments on the left of the chart image list the comments from the participants regarding general and specific conditions that contribute to poor safety in the neighborhood. Most

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of these comments are infrastructure-related, describing poor street and surveillance lighting, unsafe sidewalks and streets, inaccessible crosswalks, sidewalks, and entrances, and poor drainage. Some participants also mentioned that abandoned buildings contribute to unsafe conditions, and a high police presence causes feelings of anxiety.

The safe comments are listed on the right side of the chart.

Here, some participants explained that they general feel safe everywhere because it’s their home and where they grew up. Others expressed that there is minimal activity and feelings of unsafety in most places, but especially in places that are well lit, secure, and surrounded by maintained structures, community institutions, and schools.

The responses received from participants in the individual component were varied. Some prompt sheets were filled with mostly or all green stickers, indicating feelings of safety everywhere. Other similarities of safe places are near Linden STEM Academy, St. Stephens Community House, and Linden McKinley. Areas indicated unsafe by red stickers were mostly concentrated in areas by Cleveland Avenue, particular between Duxberry Avenue and 22nd Street. However, other response sheets contained green stickers in that area.

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RECOMMENDATIONS & NEXT STEPS The recommendations on the following page identify next steps for future analysis and engagement regarding this topic. These recommendations are informed by the results of the analysis discussed throughout this report.

As this process continues, it will be important to keep in mind safety as it has been defined by the community.

A primary emphasis on community engagement will help craft actionable data analysis that is best for the community.

The intention is to use the analysis conducted within this report to develop tactical projects that can be implemented to address the basic safety needs of the Linden Community as defined by the residents.

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EXPAND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT • Future community engagement on this topic should be guided, crafted, and facilitated by Linden residents • Ideally, a well-known and respected community leader would lead the activities • Expand the engagement to include more informal conversations as opposed to structured planning meetings • Approach discussions about crime from related topics, such as housing or small business development

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CONTINUE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS • Identify and map locations with infrastructure challenges (lighting, crosswalks, sidewalks, etc.)

• Improve base maps to reflect these resident-identified issues

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TACTICAL SOLUTIONS • Collaborate with Tactical Projects team to implement a community-oriented design solution to address one or multiples areas with unsafe infrastructure conditions

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LESSONS LEARNED Further iterative engagement is needed in order to help empower Linden residents to affect the planning process and help shape the future of their community.

community has defined what constitutes a safe and unsafe environment.

The overarching lesson learned from this analysis, which aimed to compare empirical crime data and the subjective perception of safety, is that safety must first be defined by the community members. The team’s approach in this process was clouded by internal perspectives of what we feel is “safe” or “unsafe.”

These assumptions were developed from the crime data analysis, which led the team to structure the activity plan from this limited scope, creating an immediate divide between the community and the data. For this reason, the data analysis should be conducted after the

Future community conversations and activities related to crime and safety should seek resident’s perspectives prior to engaging the community on a larger scale. Despite the team’s internal efforts to craft an activity plan that would encourage positive and actionable feedback, the community engagement component was clouded by an outsiderapproach.

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The overarching lesson learned from this analysis, which aimed to compare empirical crime data and the subjective perception of safety, is that safety must first be defined by the community members.

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Christy Wiseman Hayley Feightner Michael Outrich Lauren Bell The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture City and Regional Planning