You can expect to see more Cincinnati Police officers out on the street in Over-the-Rhine thanks to a new initiative. Police Chief Teresa Theetge says as of Monday, July 21, two officers have been assigned to patrol Main Street, and another two assigned to Vine Street.
Theetge says the effort is partly a response to business owner concerns.
"We want their customers to feel safe, to come down to these businesses — whether it's a store, a restaurant, a bar, whatever," Theetge said Tuesday. "The best way to do that is to have police visibility. And the best way to have police visibility is to have them out of a car — on foot, Segways, bicycles, whatever."
The extra patrols will operate between 4 p.m. and midnight on week nights. Theetge says there likely will be extended hours on weekends, but she will make that decision on a day-to-day basis. The patrols will focus on "quality of life"-type issues like public alcohol consumption, public gaming, and loud music.
"We will strive for compliance when we see that type of activity," Theetge said. "This is not a go-out-and-see-how-many-people-you-can-arrest endeavor. This is about, let's ask for compliance. The people who live and work there and own businesses there deserve that because they want to thrive."
It's the latest effort responding to a recent spike in crime, especially in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Citywide, violent crime so far this year is down about 3% compared to the same time period last year. In Over-the-Rhine, violent crime is up about 3% for the year. But in the last 28 days compared to the previous time period, violent crime in the neighborhood is down more than 65%.
Latest crime data
City officials held a press conference Tuesday afternoon, the third in about four weeks.
"It's our responsibility as city leaders — it is my responsibility as mayor — to both get crime under control and make sure we are communicating to residents what we're doing and where we stand every step of the way," Pureval said.
There are two primary metrics that CPD uses to track reported crime:
- Last 28 days (compared to the same 28 days the year before, and compared to the three-year average of the same 28 days)
- Year-to-date (compared to YTD for the year before, and compared to the three-year YTD average)
Data released Tuesday includes the time period from June 22 to July 19 (last 28 days) and January 1 to July 19 (YTD).
Citywide, violent crime for the last 28 days is down 8.2% compared to the same month in 2024. That reduction includes three fewer homicides, 10 fewer rapes, two fewer robberies, and two additional aggravated assaults. YTD violent crime is down about 3%.
In Over-the-Rhine specifically, the crime spike has been much more significant but is now trending down.
So far in 2025, there have been 67 reported violent crimes in the neighborhood; that's two more than this time last year, or about 3% higher. That includes five homicides so far this year, compared to two at this point in 2024. Property crimes are up nearly 46% in the area, with 495 incidents in 2025 compared to 340 at this point in 2024.
Looking at the last 28 days compared to the prior 28 days, every category of violent and property crime is down:
- Violent crime down 65% (17 fewer reported incidents)
- Zero homicides (down from three)
- Zero rapes (down from one)
- Three robberies (down from seven)
- Five aggravated assaults (down from 12)
- One strangulation (down from three)
- Property crime down 32% (33 fewer reported incidents)
- Nine burglary/breaking and entering (down from 20)
- 39 thefts from auto (down from 48)
- Nine auto thefts (down from 17)
- 14 personal/other thefts (down from 19)
You can see CPD data on reported crime citywide at this link, and for each neighborhood at this link.
City Council special session
Mayor Pureval has called a special session of City Council for Wednesday afternoon to discuss public safety.
Council is on summer recess, but Pureval said crime is an "all hands on deck" situation. Pureval will ask Council to vote on a motion that would direct city administration to take several actions.
"I thought it was important enough to call them in for an emergency meeting, put this motion in front of them, let them debate it and ask the hard questions, and then hopefully vote on a comprehensive strategy moving forward," Pureval said.
The motion asks city administration to take several actions:
- Enforce the citywide curfew
- Review the current curfew ordinance and provide recommendations for the ages, times, and locations of unsupervised minors
- Coordinate and enact with Cincinnati Police, community and external partners, a strategy around curfew enforcement for unsupervised minors
- Update and restrict the hours of city parks for unsupervised minors to 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.
- Review and provide a recommendation to the Parking License Program
- Review and provide a recommendation for expanding the time and geographic footprint of the 21+ permit at The Banks
- Review and provide recommendation for increased police visibility in Over-the-Rhine, The Banks and Downtown
- Provide a review and timeline of the Police Lateral Class
"I think it's important to have a public opportunity for Council members to ask questions — tough questions — and really provide a pressure test on the strategies that we're deploying," Pureval said.
Six Council members have signed onto the motion as of Tuesday afternoon; the motion will need at least five votes to pass.
The meeting is Wednesday at noon at City Hall. It will be livestreamed on CitiCable.
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