Columbia Downtown Safety Ambassadors Program gathering data for its first monthly report
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The new Columbia Downtown Safety Ambassadors Program will soon publish a monthly incident report starting in mid-July that details incidents, along with statistics.
The District Executive Director Nickie Davis said the reports will be “extensive.”
The program has only been officially active for about a week and a half. The ambassadors have already de-escalated one situation, according to Davis.
“They helped de-escalate a bit of a larger fight that was happening down on Eighth or Seventh Street,” Davis said. “Our main goal is to keep those situations from becoming something that they would actually have to call the police for.”
The ambassadors are not law enforcement and can’t arrest anyone, but are there to prevent dangerous situations from happening.
Davis said that during training, before the official launch, an ambassador called 911 for an unresponsive person. The person was revived after EMS administered NARCAN and then taken to the hospital.
“They [the ambassador] got a reward for it already and just good work on their part for noticing and continuing to check on this person,” Davis said.
While patrolling, Davis said many people are happy to see the ambassadors, and some ask questions about city ordinances.
Five ambassadors walk in different zones around downtown Columbia from 4:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. There’s also a full-time outreach coordinator.