Respondents to the 2025 City of Columbia Community Survey expressed support for expanding the city’s surveillance efforts through the voluntary integration of privately owned cameras.
The survey found that 66% of respondents support the integration of private cameras into public safety efforts, while 63% support the Columbia Police Department’s use of drones.
Dr. Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, said while surveillance technology can offer benefits, it also raises concerns.
“There are some benefits, but it also has disparate impacts and civil liberty issues,” Johnson said. “It makes the job easier and moves things quicker, but it can increase and codify disparities rather than reduce them.”
The survey also showed dissatisfaction with public safety efforts downtown. Only 30% of respondents said they were satisfied with crime prevention efforts, and 35% said they were satisfied with police visibility downtown.
Despite that dissatisfaction, a majority of respondents supported increasing police staffing.The survey found that 55% of respondents support a tax increase to hire more police officers and firefighters.
Johnson said research shows that increasing police presence can have an effect, but it is limited.
“You need a certain size police force, and some research shows that having more officers can lead to crime reduction, but those effects are often modest and marginal,” Johnson said. “Public safety isn’t any one thing. It’s how different approaches work together.”
In her 2025 End-of-Year Wrap-Up, Mayor Barbara Buffaloe responded to the survey findings by highlighting the Columbia Police Department’s in-house training academy, reduced vacancy rates, increased downtown patrols since June 2025 and the city’s DIVERT program, which provides support for individuals experiencing homelessness.