Cincinnati - Crime

Crime

Before the riot of 2001, Cincinnati's overall crime rate was dropping steadily and had reached its lowest point since 1992. After the riot, violent crime increased, and in 2005 Cincinnati was ranked as the 20th most dangerous city in America. The police force "work slowdown" correlated with this increase. For the first four months of 2007, incidents of violent crime were 15.3 percent lower than they had been in the first four months of 2006. Children's Hospital saw a 78 percent decrease in gunshot wounds, and University Hospital had a 17 percent drop. In May and June 2006, together with the Hamilton County Sheriff, the Cincinnati Police Department created a task force of twenty deputies in Over-the-Rhine that helped reduce crime in downtown Cincinnati by 29%. This substantial decrease had still not reduced crime to levels before the 2001 riots.

The city attempted to reduce gun violence by using the Out of the Crossfire program at University Hospital, a rehabilitation program for patients with gunshot wounds. Mayor Mark Mallory is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." 2007 saw 68 homicides, nearly a 25% drop from 2006; however, this was still higher than homicide figures in the year 2000. By May 2008, violent crime was down by 12% compared to the same period in 2007; however, by year end, homicides increased 10% from the 2007. As of December 12, 2009 there had been 60 homicides in the city of Cincinnati. In 2009, the CQ Press ranked Cincinnati the 19th most dangerous city in the United States.

-In 2010, there were 72 reported homicides.

-In 2011, there were 66 reported homicides.