Is Columbus safe in 2026? Citywide homicides were down in 2025. Empty houses were not
The search is “is Columbus safe,” “Columbus crime 2026,” and “do I need a home alarm in Columbus.” Citywide homicides were down in 2025. Porch packages and empty houses did not take the year off. Home Security Systems Columbus takes that call on (380) 600-9919. SafeStreets installs. ADT monitors 24/7. This site is not ADT corporate. The lockup is Columbus Security Pros. We cite citywide numbers with a date. We do not publish neighborhood crime rates.
Promotional packages start at $53.99/mo* for ADT Secure+, then Smart+ $63.99*, Complete+ $74.99*. $99 install on many plans. Ask about the free alarm-system promo ($850 value) on qualifying monitoring*. Typically 36 months. Early termination fees apply. Credit approval applies. Offers are for homeowners. Crime being down does not change those numbers. Crime being down also does not make a leftover keypad live. The four numbers live on monitoring packages. What ADT costs in Columbus is the money.
What Columbus finished 2025 with
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Columbus finished 2025 with 84 homicides — about a 33 percent decrease from 2024 and the lowest number of killings in Columbus since 2007. Axios Columbus reported the 2025 count as the lowest in 16 years, citing Columbus Division of Police. Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters one homicide is too many. Those are citywide counts. They mix German Village, the Short North, Clintonville, Hilltop, and downtown. A quieter street is not 24/7 monitoring. We do not invent neighborhood crime rates.
Direction on the citywide total is real. Mid-2026 local reporting showed mixed year-to-date comparisons depending on the week. Numbers change. We cite the date. Occupancy does not wait on a year-end total. People order monitoring for the hours the house sits empty.
Porch packages and tried doors are the occupancy story
Walkable streets are why people add a doorbell. German Village, Short North, Victorian Village, and Clintonville houses collect boxes on porches while owners are at work, on I-71, or downtown. A camera you check yourself is useful. It is not the same as ADT calling you when a door opens. The system is for the hours no one is looking out the window — not a claim that Bexley or Upper Arlington is dangerous. Porch packages is the stoop article.
Empty houses after drop-off and the ring commute
Columbus City Schools drop-off empties in-city two-stories. Olentangy, Dublin, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Hilliard, and South-Western empty the rest of the map until pickup. A downtown shift empties German Village and Short North doors the same way. That is when people want the system armed. Weekday empties and school-day empties are the calendar articles. This page is the citation underneath them.
A leftover keypad is not a safety score
A leftover pad in a Dublin or Lewis Center hall is not ADT until you order monitoring. Photograph it. Citywide totals do not turn it on. Leftover keypads is the hardware. This journal stays on the citywide numbers and the empty house.
Permit paper is not a crime map
City of Columbus currently has no user-permit dollar while the License Section program is suspended as of June 1, 2024 — confirm (614) 645-8366. Dublin bills false alarms after two in six months. Township lots may use Ohio Revised Code 505.511. None of that paper is a neighborhood crime rate. File the desk that belongs to the ZIP. Order monitoring for the hours you are gone. Columbus versus Dublin is the city-line article.
What people actually order after a missing box
Door and window sensors, including the garage and any extra unit if you have one. A doorbell camera if packages sit out front. Outdoor cameras if the driveway holds a car overnight. Cellular backup so the panel still reaches ADT when AEP Ohio or Wi-Fi drops. That is the Columbus order, not a twelve-camera quote unless you ask for one. Coverage is this Columbus window. Confirm the ZIP. We will not take a form. We will not take a tenant on a homeowner promotion.
Call (380) 600-9919. SafeStreets installs. ADT monitors 24/7. Columbus Security Pros is the local voice. Source: Columbus Division of Police / Columbus Dispatch (84 homicides in 2025, about 33% down from 2024, lowest since 2007). Axios Columbus, January 8, 2026. Mayor Andrew Ginther. Numbers change. We cite the date. We do not publish neighborhood crime rates.