The post-pandemic geographic realignment has been good for Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeye State capital recently secured a $20 billion deal with Intel to host a semiconductor plant, and Chipotle just opened a 130,000-square-foot corporate office for 400 employees in the city’s Arena District. Columbus’s amenities, low cost of living, and growing economy have prompted Ohio State geographer Kevin Cox to label it an honorary Sun Belt city.
But rising crime is a looming problem. The city finished 2021 with an all-time high of 204 homicides, and 21 of the victims were children. Meantime, a federal investigation into mail and check theft has identified the city as a hot spot for the intricate criminal process that entails stealing checks from vans or mailboxes and uploading them on the dark web for sale. Crime in Columbus may be low compared with nearby cities, but its leaders should ensure that this white-collar city—which has traditionally avoided the trouble experienced by its post-industrial neighbors—doesn’t become another midwestern town undone by violence.
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