Monday, February 08, 1999
Policing a priority near Ohio State
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — The slaying of two people last month near Ohio State University is prompting the community to focus on crime in neighborhoods near the school.
The campus area has long been among the more crime-plagued areas of the city. For the first 11 months of 1998, the precinct was among the top five in almost every major crime category.
The district is Ohio State's most popular off-campus housing area, home to about 10,400 Ohio State students, according to Campus Partners, a university-sponsored agency trying to upgrade the area.
“It has to remain a top priority to revitalize and rebuild that community,” university President William E. Kirwan said.
Police patrol the area with cars, motorcycles, bicycles and undercover officers. The U.S. attorney's office has made parts of the district a high priority for law enforcement.
“We have one of the highest concentrations of officers in the city of Columbus in the university ar ea,” police spokesman Sgt. Earl Smith said. “But it's also probably, I would argue, one of the toughest areas” to get people to participate in looking after their own safety, he said.
Students are aware of crime, said Shane Hankins, director of off-campus affairs for the Ohio State Undergraduate Student Government.
“I don't think people should be paralyzed by fear,” Mr. Hankins said. “After all, this is our neighborhood. But the crime statistics are alarming.”
Last week, Carlo Lamar-Marquis, 18, a former Ohio State student, was arrested and charged with murder in the shootings of Loretta Long and Patrick Pryor. They were shot Jan. 14 in Ms. Long's apartment in the campus area.
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