Body cameras, DNA testing in Columbia mayoral hopeful’s safety plan
Columbia City Councilman Daniel Rickenmann said if he is elected mayor he would push for better police body camera technology and for city law enforcement to have rapid DNA testing capabilities.
Those were just a couple of the items mentioned by Rickenmann Tuesday morning as he discussed a public safety plan during a news conference along Harden Street in Five Points.
Rickenmann is among four candidates running for Columbia mayor. Other hopefuls include former District 3 City Councilman Moe Baddourah; at-large City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine; and Sam Johnson, former chief of staff to Mayor Steve Benjamin. Benjamin is not seeking re-election after serving three terms.
The Columbia municipal election is Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16, if necessary.
On Tuesday, Rickenmann touched on a five-point safety initiative that included the hiring and retention of officers, ramping up the number of “beat” patrol officers on city streets, increasing technology at the police department, training and reform, and better community partnerships.
Public safety has become a key talking point in the race for Columbia’s top political spot, and it will be a topic of conversation Wednesday night during The State’s virtual mayoral candidate forum.
In September, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook shared that, while overall crime has ticked down 4% in the city in 2021, violent crime has gone up by 8% this year. As of Sept. 23 there had been 747 violent crimes in the city limits this year, compared to 692 at the same point a year ago.
The city police department also is contending with officer vacancies. The CPD is budgeted for 436 sworn officers, and had 343 on staff as of late September. Holbrook confirmed to The State that, of the 93 sworn officer vacancies, 52 are for “front line” patrol officers, the type of officers who respond directly to calls for service.
Rickenmann, who currently is a councilman in District 4 in the northeast part of the city, said if elected mayor he would push for the police department to have a local emphasis in its hiring.
“It needs to be local, with people who are really knowledgeable about our community, our business corridors, our neighborhoods, so we don’t have to spend so much time starting over, getting those people integrated into that community,” Rickenmann said.
Rickenmann also said the city should invest in rapid DNA testing at the police department. He said it could cost the city $200,000 for DNA lab equipment, plus $50,000 annually to upgrade technology.
He also stumped for the expansion of ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology that is currently in use in some city neighborhoods.
The city paid about $1.2 million for its current ShotSpotter set-up, which covers six square miles in areas of north and north central Columbia that have been particularly plagued by gunfire. Columbia started using the technology in 2019. Rickenmann said each new phase could cost around $400,000.
And Rickenmann said the city needs to upgrade its body camera technology. While Columbia officers use body cameras, Rickenmann said many of those cameras were purchased several years ago, in the early generation of the technology.
“We need to be at the top of every piece of technology available, not only to protect our community, but to protect our officers,” he said.
Rickenmann said he thinks the city could look at using federal COVID relief dollars toward some of the law enforcement technology issues. He also said law enforcement funding should receive enhanced prioritization by Council.
“I don’t think we have a money problem in Columbia,” he said. “I think comes down to priorities. If we can spend (tens of millions) in cash at BullStreet, we can afford to pay for stuff.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 3:09 PM.
