Cincinnati officials are considering whether to enforce the city's existing curfew for minors.
Cincinnati City Council interrupted summer recess to meet in a special session Wednesday, called by Mayor Aftab Pureval. Council passed a motion that directs city administration and the police department to take several actions to further address a June spike in crime across the city, including enforcing the curfew.
The numbers have since started trending back down.
"We're seeing the numbers stabilize, and we're hopeful that will continue, but we will not be satisfied with stabilizing," City Manager Sheryl Long told Council. "Public safety is our top priority, and we will continue to build upon the pillars of accuracy to see lasting change in our communities."
Curfew enforcement
The existing curfew law was established in 1994. It says that between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., anyone under age 16 should not be in public without supervision from an adult at least 21 years old. The curfew starts at midnight for minors that are 16 or 17 years old.
Police Chief Teresa Theetge says her department has been researching whether curfew enforcement could help reduce crime.
"The first look at the data does indicate to us that there are some specific neighborhoods in our city that the youth disorder is occurring after current curfew hours," Theetge said.
Long says the curfew is confusing and difficult to enforce.
"We have a cross departmental team discussing enforcement options, including updated ordinances, reaching out to partners for potential collaboration, and researching a potential centralized curfew center," Long said. "All of this is being done under the legal guidance of the city solicitor."
It's not clear where a "centralized curfew center" could be, or how it would be funded. Long says there needs to be a safe place for police to drop off minors violating curfew if their parents cannot be reached.
Council passed the motion 7-0; two Council members participated in the meeting virtually, but could not vote on the item because of state law.
A few Council members expressed concern about potential enforcement and cautioned officials to be as equitable as possible.
"A lot of us have said we just want to make sure we're not criminalizing our young people," said Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney. "In my understanding, that is not the intent ... and the second thing is to make sure we use that opportunity to help these young people and their families have the resources they need."
Theetge and Long say they hope to have an ordinance ready for City Council's meeting in early August.
Although the first item of the motion directs the city administration to "enforce the citywide curfew," a spokesperson for the city manager's office says the intention is to begin enforcement only after City Council has considered and approved an amended version.
Other public safety actions
The motion asks city administration to take several actions, including:
- 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.
The motion also asks the administration to review and provide a recommendation for expanding the time and geographic footprint of the 21+ permit at The Banks. This refers to a policy that went into place in late April, where a small portion of The Banks is off-limits to anyone under age 21 during certain weekend hours. The city approved a permit for the plan, which is implemented and funded by private business owners in the area.
The motion also asks the administration to review and provide a recommendation to the Parking License Program. This refers to a previous city program that evaluated public parking lots and garages for safety. CPD has brought it back in a limited capacity, offering free evaluations for any parking property owner. The evaluation looks at things like lighting, security cameras, and whether and how often a parking attendant is on the property.
According to a representative from the mayor's office, the administration will look into reviving the program and finding a funding source. It's also possible the administration will recommend a licensing system, whereby parking property owners would be required to follow certain regulations in order to be allowed to operate.
The motion also asks for a review and recommendation for increased police visibility in Over-the-Rhine, The Banks, and downtown.
Lastly, City Council is asking for a timeline of the previously announced police lateral class.
For the first time in Cincinnati, the police department will run a police recruit class for current officers in other jurisdictions outside of Ohio. Applicants must have a Peace Officer certification from Ohio or another state, plus two years of full-time experience as a police officer.
The lateral class is designed to fill vacancies with experienced officers, requiring less training than a typical recruit class.
Theetge says lateral class training will still include information about the Collaborative Agreement, and that CPD will not lower the standards for police officers.
Latest crime data
City officials held a press conference Tuesday afternoon, the third in about four weeks. Police Chief Teresa Theetge presented the numbers to City Council on Wednesday, as well.
The data includes the time period from June 22 to July 19 (last 28 days) and January 1 to July 19 (year to date, or YTD).
The number of year-to-date shooting incidents in Cincinnati is at the lowest level since at least 2010.
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.
You can see CPD data on reported crime citywide at this link, and for each neighborhood at this link.
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