On Wednesday, August 5, Cincinnati City Council unanimously voted to allocate an additional $2 million from the general fund to Cincinnati Police Department (CPD). The money would give officers more resources to respond to crime concerns downtown, as well as enforcing a citywide curfew for youth.
Council Member Jeff Cramerding proposed the dispersal last week after a video of a physical fight at Fourth and Elm streets garnered attention from politicians and national media.
“What has happened at Fourth and Elm has been racialized, polarized, and has been unfortunate to say the least,” Cramerding said ahead of the vote. “We have to acknowledge a portion of our citizens feel less safe than they did 11 days ago.”
Over the past month, Police Chief Teresa Theetge and City Manager Sheryl Long presented to council a plan for responding to crime concerns downtown, as well as how officers will approach enforcing curfews for children and teens 17 and younger.
The curfew will be 11 p.m. citywide, in exception to two zones in downtown areas: Youth will be brought to curfew centers, where staff will reach out to their parents to get them home. Officers can also use discretion to determine whether to give children a ride home vs. taking them to those centers overnight.
Downtown will have a 9 p.m. curfew, however, in “hotspot” areas for disorderly behavior. The district encompasses portions of Over-the-Rhine and the Central Business District, bordered by West Liberty Street, Mehring Way (including The Banks to the south), Central Parkway and Central Avenue, and Sycamore Street and Broadway.
The $2 million will also assist in new CPD initiatives to respond to crime downtown. New tactics include a stronger police presence downtown, a street-level crime task force and more.
The money offers flexibility for use. In addition to officer overtime, it can be used to pay for walking and bike patrols, tech upgrades, lighting and security cameras and other measures.
Public safety committee rejects dispersing money for new violence prevention program
Kearney and Johnson submitted a motion to release the $275,000 allocated in October 2024 to implement an Advance Peace program in Cincinnati. The program was invented in Richmond, California, and other local governments across the nation have used that model to reduce gun violence in their own cities.
In Cincinnati, Advance Peace would be administered by Kings and Queens, a local gun violence prevention nonprofit. The ordinance to allocate $275,000 to the program was passed in October 2024. It was contingent on Kearney’s office to raise matching funds, which is underway.
“However, I think given what’s happening in our city now, we just cannot wait. We need to get moving,” Kearney said.
Jeffreys said he would vote against the Advanced Peace motion, like he did when it was first introduced in October 2024, because the program includes a $1,000 a month stipend and he doesn’t want to give money to people engaging in bad behavior.
Albi questioned how this initiative differs from the city’s anti-violence program, ACT For Cincy, and its accompanying program Boots on the Ground. The latter engages community partners to promote anti-violence initiatives in their neighborhoods.
The motion failed 3-5, with only ordinance sponsors Kearney and Johnson voting yes.
Documenter follow-up questions:
- How does the Advance Peace Program supplement ACT For Cincy? Is this work already being done and how is this different?
- How will Cincinnati police equitably enforce youth curfews across city neighborhoods of varying demographics and income levels?
- What do community leaders have to say about CPD’s new crime response initiatives downtown?
