Economic Impact
An estimated 3,000 police officers from as far away as Ireland, are in Cincinnati for a convention that begins Monday and continues through Friday. The Convention and Visitors Bureau puts the economic impact at $4.5 million and contracted hotel room nights of more than 15,000 in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
The national Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) selected Cincinnati in 2008 to host its 2013 convention. The Queen City beat out Dallas and Louisville, among others. The FOP is the largest and the oldest law enforcement labor organization in the country with 325,000 members. Lodge 69, the Cincinnati FOP, is serving as host for the convention.
Important Issues
Local president Kathy Harrell says, "One of the main things that we're looking at now is the attack on our pensions and attacks on right to work." Harrell says there are cuts all over the country and this is putting police officers at risk. She says increasingly cities are going after police contracts and pensions.
The FOP has some big names this week. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is scheduled to speak Monday morning at 8:15 a.m.
