A group of political and business leaders are pooling their influence and resources, saying they want to increase safety in downtown Dayton.
The Downtown Dayton Security Working Group is an initiative created by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, (R-Dayton).
Last August, local and state political leaders, businessmen and non-profits came together. Their mission is to attract more people and businesses downtown to bolster economic growth.
During a Monday news conference, Turner said this can be achieved by effectively collaborating state and local resources to increase social services for people in need, increasing police presence and enhancing law enforcement to hold people accountable for the crimes they commit downtown.
"This is a place for people come to work, play, and enjoy downtown," Turner said. "We wanna make certain that that investment continues and we know that it can be at risk if we don't have a place where people feel secure."
However, when asked, Turner said the group does not have any current crime stats. They are working with Dayton police to identify immediate problem areas.
The group is also working to change people’s perceptions of safety in downtown Dayton.
"We wanna to see restaurants thriving, we want people to feel comfortable. Perception and reality are not the same things. And so we want to make sure the reality that everybody experiences as they come downtown is a reality based on feeling confident," said State Rep. Andrea White.
Jason Woodard is part of the Downtown Dayton’s security working group. He’s also the founder of Woodard Development which has 15 properties in the downtown area. He advocates getting more workers to return to the office.
"Pre-COVID, we had a very full office population. We had a lot of people on the streets from eight to five. We'd increased the living. Post-COVID, we've seen a decline in the number of people that are in the office on a daily basis," said Woodard. "Reduce that work-from-home and get people back in the office, the more people that we get downtown, the more you realize it's safe and it is an upward spiral."
The Downtown Dayton Security Working Group has given a list of recommendations to city and Montgomery County commissioners for consideration. City commissioners will have a first reading of these suggestions during its Jan. 7 evening meeting.
