Columbia Police work with community partners to ensure downtown safety

(COLUMBIA, MO) - The Columbia Police Department (CPD) is working alongside community partners to ensure a welcoming and safe downtown.

Due to increasing crowds and the return of college students, CPD is adding more resources to downtown Columbia to ensure that all patrons of The District have an enjoyable and safe visit. This includes assigning more officers to patrol downtown, enforcing parking ordinances on private property, ensuring open sidewalks, adding additional variable intensity lighting and using existing video surveillance.

The Police Department is also working with local businesses and residents to deter late night and early morning tailgating on public streets as well as public and private parking lots.

"The safety of the entire community is the most important priority to myself and the entire department. With the return of many college students, we want to ensure that everyone who visits our downtown can enjoy their visit to local restaurants, bars and businesses," Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton said.

For requests for on-camera interviews with Chief Ken Burton, please call 573.874.7652. The police chief's availability is limited.