Columbus City Council members held press conference for crime prevention

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Recent violent crimes, including a fatal shooting in the Columbus Heights neighborhood just last week, have area elected officials calling for action and help from the community.

Columbus City Council members Ethel Taylor Stewart and Pierre Beard joined Lowndes County Supervisor Leroy Brooks and representatives from the Columbus Police Department and Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office for a press conference to discuss strategies for dealing with crime in the county and city.

Elected leaders and law enforcement both agree that information from the community is essential to solving crimes.

They also appealed to residents to help prevent crime by helping their neighbors.

“Most of the crime we’re having is the result of people having arguments or discussions, or having some type of issue with each other, and not being able to resolve it in a peaceful way,” said Cheif Fred Shelton, Columbus Police Department.

“I think the community has to begin to talk to law enforcement and other people, if they know what’s going on. And, please, I know we love our children, but let’s not harbor our children in doing wrong, because it’s not going to get any better if the community doesn’t speak up,” said Leroy Brooks, Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, District 5.

Both the Police and Sheriff’s departments remind residents that there are ways to report crimes anonymously, such as Crime Stoppers and the P3 mobile app.