Weinland Park Community Civic Association

Safety and Mobility Committee

Notes from meeting of February 20, 2014
The Weinland Park Community Civic Association's Safety and Mobility Committee held
its regular monthly meeting on February 20 and discussed the Neighborhood Options for
Youth (NOY) program and the potential use of special-duty Columbus police officers in
Weinland Park.
Committee Co-Chairs Brandyn McElroy and Chris Orban presided over the meeting.
Also attending were David Campbell, Tammy Forrest, Isom Nivins, Officer Steve Smith,
Steve Sterrett, and Nate Toops.
Nate Toops of Directions for Youth and Families (DFYF) and Tammy Forrest of Ohio
State explained the development and implementation of NOY over the past year. NOY
has created a partnership among DFYF, Columbus Police, Community Properties of
Ohio, and Franklin County juvenile court to provide social services and opportunities to
youth in trouble and their families in Weinland Park. The goals are to deter criminal and
disruptive behavior and encourage positive choices by youth and to reduce crime and
increase public safety in Weinland Park. Tammy Forrest is an evaluation consultant to
NOY.
Committee members expressed appreciation for learning more about NOY and indicated
an interest in receiving periodic reports about NOY so there could be feedback from
neighbors about the program.
Mr. Toops can be reached at (614) 294-2661, extension 2511, and ntoops@dfyf.org. Ms.
Forrest can be reached at (614) 746-9893 and forrest.97@osu.edu.
David Campbell of Community Properties of Ohio (CPO) explained his agency contracts
with the special-duty Columbus police officers who participate in NOY. In addition to
their focus on juveniles, these officers have conducted criminal investigations involving
adults in Weinland Park. CPO has engaged special-duty officers for eight or nine years to
help patrol its apartments, significantly reducing the number of crimes.
Mr. Campbell suggested that these special-duty officers could be assigned to work with
other rental property owners who manage their apartments effectively. In addition, he
asked if the Safety and Mobility Committee would be interested in working with
residents to determine public safety issues in the neighborhood that, in turn, these officers
could be asked to focus on.
The committee discussed Mr. Campbell's suggestions and ultimately decided it would be
worthwhile to explore them further.