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Anti-Violence Initiative Is Working, Officials Say

Tana Weingartner
/
WVXU
U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart, flanked by area leaders and police chiefs, talks about an initiative to decrease violent gun crime.

Gun violence is on the rise nationwide and in Greater Cincinnati. Local law enforcement are revising the way they work together in order to catch the worst offenders.

Leaders from across Hamilton and Butler counties say the new approach is paying off.U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart says 15 people from Cincinnati and Hamilton have been indicted on federal gun charges. He credits bringing multiple agencies together, literally, in one room to go after the most habitual offenders.

"One police department in this area may not know what somebody else in this area is doing," says Stewart. "But when we're all in a room together, sharing information, going into the police departments ourselves and talking to people on a regular basis, it increases the intel that we get and allows us to target folks better."

Springfield Township Police Chief Robert Browder says, "This collaboration should be a model for others throughout the country to see. These indictments are going to take some of Cincinnati's hardest criminals off the street."

Officials say the added bonus of working with the U.S. Attorney's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaccos, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is that, if convicted, criminals will be sent to federal prisons, far away from their local networks.

"I wish I could say that after this takedown you'll see the trend start to go back down, but as you all know, that's not how it works. We're going to keep at this for as long as it takes and continue working to make this community safe," says Stewart.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.