July 23, 201410 yr It's a lot safer to use a fresh needle every time you use drugs. Sorry, I just find this comment hilarious! Yes, I want all the addicts to be safe!
August 1, 201410 yr not much of an article about the barricading of McMicken Ave. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/07/31/west-mcmicken-barricades-taken/13400949/
August 1, 201410 yr ^ I rode my bike through there a few times while the barricades were up (can't be accused of being a john when you're on a bike, I suppose). It was pretty quiet in the area whenever I went through, but I did see some families out now and then. Never went through there before the barricades, so I can't say if that was a change or not.
August 1, 201410 yr There was a huge change. I live nearby and drove through or biked through at least twice per week. There was still some activity for two or three days after the barricades went up on nearby side streets, but it was basically over within a week. How quickly it comes back I don't know. Somebody told me that the pimps hang out in the upper floors of rented apartments and watch to make sure that the girls solicit every single car that comes by. If they don't wave they get beaten. As soon as one girl is picked up, they send another one down.
August 1, 201410 yr Somebody told me that the pimps hang out in the upper floors of rented apartments and watch to make sure that the girls solicit every single car that comes by. If they don't wave they get beaten. As soon as one girl is picked up, they send another one down. This is an excellent reason for legalisation.
August 4, 201410 yr Yvette Simpson's take on her barricade plan http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/08/04/simpson-barricades-provided-peace-mind/13570969/ and talking to the police chief http://www.wlwt.com/news/chief-barricades-to-cut-down-on-prostitution-had-positive-impact/27296530#!bvvPnd The number of women in the sex trade in this one small area is amazing. I know it's not the only area with prostitution. This is what I would have expected in the 19th century.
August 15, 201410 yr The ACLU his coming out strong against the use of SWAT teams for ordinary search warrants (especially in minority neighborhoods). They included a map of the times SWAT was used in Cincinnati from 2010-2013 as an example, trying to show how it is mostly only used in black neighborhoods. Just an interesting map. It's kind of scary how many of these there are. I remember a year or two ago they did a huge operation that targeted leaders of the local gangs and drug dealers in Northern OTR and the West End. I think these typically come in waves instead of one every other day like the map suggests.
August 15, 201410 yr The ACLU his coming out strong against the use of SWAT teams for ordinary search warrants (especially in minority neighborhoods). They included a map of the times SWAT was used in Cincinnati from 2010-2013 as an example, trying to show how it is mostly only used in black neighborhoods. Just an interesting map. It's kind of scary how many of these there are. I remember a year or two ago they did a huge operation that targeted leaders of the local gangs and drug dealers in Northern OTR and the West End. I think these typically come in waves instead of one every other day like the map suggests. I know one in Northside involved gun running. That's probably a common thread.
August 16, 201410 yr Gun running would be one circumstance where I'd say a SWAT team is justified. Kind of like the Clive Bundy people. (Who apparently were left alone???) If you know the criminals are holding a massive arsenal, well, shields and firepower are a good idea.
August 19, 201410 yr This is identified as Clifton. It doesn't look like Clifton, OH. Guessing it's in the Uptown, UC area. WLWT commented they would like to use the recording. I didn't hear anything about this. WTH is wrong with people? These guys were just having stupid, silly fun & some goombah needs to commence blasting away at people? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1507430406160300&fref=nf
August 19, 201410 yr This is identified as Clifton. It doesn't look like Clifton, OH. Guessing it's in the Uptown, UC area. WLWT commented they would like to use the recording. I didn't hear anything about this. WTH is wrong with people? These guys were just having stupid, silly fun & some goombah needs to commence blasting away at people? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1507430406160300&fref=nf Yeah - That's the Shell station in Clifton Heights on Ohio Ave between Calhoun and McMillan Sts.
August 19, 201410 yr This is identified as Clifton. It doesn't look like Clifton, OH. Guessing it's in the Uptown, UC area. WLWT commented they would like to use the recording. I didn't hear anything about this. WTH is wrong with people? These guys were just having stupid, silly fun & some goombah needs to commence blasting away at people? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1507430406160300&fref=nf Seriously...the first half of that video is awesome. I would've been thrilled to come across them jamming out at a gas station like that. Then someone had to start shooting and ruin it all.
August 20, 201410 yr And it seemed to happen right after a cop car drove by. Weird timing for someone to decide to start shooting, isn't it?
August 20, 201410 yr That Shell gets crazy like that all the time. Not the gun shots, just the crowds, music, etc.
August 20, 201410 yr Asked my nephew about this incident, he's a UC police dispatcher. He didn't know much. I was working, it was my shots fired serenade off of third shift. That Shell is a magnet for kids at night, but this was the first shots fired in a while. Apparently some people don't get that fun shouldn't involve random shooting
August 20, 201410 yr That Shell gets crazy like that all the time. Not the gun shots, just the crowds, music, etc. In the past there were massive weekly cruising spots...in the 90s hundreds of people hung out on Short Vine every Tuesday for 10-cent wing night outside the BW3's, and there was even a mini-riot there at some point. Then the crowd shifted to Sunday nights at the Eden Park overlook. Generally these gatherings seem to start out with sport bikers gathering for a group ride, but for unknown reasons teenagers without motorcycles start showing up. I have seen the same thing in other cities happen with sport bikes using a prominent gas station as their gathering point.
September 16, 201410 yr There was a shooting in OTR today. Occurred at 1:20pm at the intersection of 12th and Republic.
September 18, 201410 yr Even when the Enquirer acknowledges CUF is not Clifton, they get the geography wrong. Lyon Street is in Clifton Heights, not University Heights. Still, it's an improvement. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/2014/09/18/police-investigating-gunfire-at-party-near-uc/15806811/ Those two are idiots for not paying those weed tickets. No one probably would have noticed or cared they were cited for possession, but now it's a big deal.
September 18, 201410 yr Look at the comments section...somebody on there claiming they never partied in college...telling everyone they should be sound asleep by midnight. What a loser!
September 18, 201410 yr "This kid will never play cornerback in college if he cant outrun cops." lol That was actually my first thought, too. How's he going to cover OSU receivers if CPD can keep up with him in stride? This would be a non-issue if he hadn't tried to run. No one cares about citations for weed anymore. They're on par with citations for expired parking meters. Running from the cops is never a good idea though.
October 14, 201410 yr Was looking at police stats to get an update. Came up with these numbers on violent crime city wide. I took year to date 10/04/2014, divided by 10 and multiplied by 12 to get yearly number: 2014: 2,150 violent crimes 2013: 2,420 violent crimes 2011-2013 average: 2,568 violent crimes Violent crime rate (total violent crimes divided by 300,000, multiplied by 100,000) 2014: 717 per 100,000 2013: 807 per 100,000 2011-2013 average: 856 per 100,000 Wonder how this will be used politically. Were the new hires the reason? Have the new recruit classes even started? Would be interested to put this up against officer numbers / public safety spending. See what the correlation is. Obviously this was a big political point by Cranley. Also, for all the talk murder is spiking, it is 4 down compared to this point last year (55 ytd 2014 compared to 59 ytd 2013).
October 14, 201410 yr Looked at expenditures, not sure if it is a good correlation but here is what it is: 2013-2014 violent crime is down 11.15% 2013-2014 public safety expenditure down 3.38% 2014-2015 proposed public safety expenditure will be down 0.7%. Hard to say 2012 year since I don't see it listed, but using 3 year average to 2013, violent crime down 5.76% 2012-2013 public expenditures up 0.4% Overall, you would expect as public safety expenditure rises, crime decreases. Since 2012, the correlation has been for the most part, public safety expenditure decreases, and violent crime decreases by much more. I did a project in college in trying to find factors for crime using econometrics. Hard to pin point one thing in numbers as there are so many factors. My professor said though that there usually isn't a lot of correlation statistically at all with crimes of passion like murder and the public expenditure on safety. This runs a bit opposite of what we hear and see in the media, by public figures, etc. It is always, "More cops, more cops, more cops, more murders, more murders, etc.". While it does help to have more police, it isn't the only factor. From reading on the topic, things like after school programs, etc. are a factor as well.
October 14, 201410 yr Less police & 911 infrastructure = less crime because fewer crimes are statistically reported.
October 14, 201410 yr Less police & 911 infrastructure = less crime because fewer crimes are statistically reported. That seems possible for Part 2 crimes (quality of life crimes), but not for Part 1 Crimes (violent crimes).
October 14, 201410 yr Less police & 911 infrastructure = less crime because fewer crimes are statistically reported. That seems possible for Part 2 crimes (quality of life crimes), but not for Part 1 Crimes (violent crimes). Yeah I tend to agree with that. The police aren't going to report every single car theft, etc. However, I think the violent crime trend is more of a national trend as well. Possibly because the economy is improving, though hard to tell for sure. It does seem like the police are doing a good job with trying to break up gangs, but not sure if that is anything new around here since I am relatively new to the area.
October 14, 201410 yr Violent crime is down by like 50% nationwide since the height of the crack epidemic in 1990. And what's amazing is that it didn't go up during the recession. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/05/why-did-crime-fall-during-the-great-recession/239696/ To bring up the lead thing at a party is to invite a firestorm. People don't want to believe that the EPA has actually done something incredibly important or that criminal activity is motivated by a substance in the environment, not a lack of old-tyme religion or old-school discipline.
October 14, 201410 yr ^ this mentions a UC study re: lead http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline www.cincinnatiideas.com
October 15, 201410 yr ^ this mentions a UC study re: lead http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline I've innocently brought up the Cincinnati Lead Study in a few conversations over the past few years, and each time people went totally berserk. For whatever reason a lot of people don't want to even entertain the idea that pollution could influence behavior. People really want to believe that antisocial behavior is caused by a "bad attitude" or whatever, and that a bad attitude and criminal behavior is best resolved with hitting and yelling at people and then throwing them in prison.
October 15, 201410 yr ^ this mentions a UC study re: lead http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline I've innocently brought up the Cincinnati Lead Study in a few conversations over the past few years, and each time people went totally berserk. For whatever reason a lot of people don't want to even entertain the idea that pollution could influence behavior. People really want to believe that antisocial behavior is caused by a "bad attitude" or whatever, and that a bad attitude and criminal behavior is best resolved with hitting and yelling at people and then throwing them in prison. I have heard this before but never really read into it fully. It really explains a lot and is a great article. Maybe if the people you spoke with read the article they would believe it? In hindsight, something that the police unions, prison unions, fire unions, etc. don't want to hear.
October 15, 201410 yr ^ this mentions a UC study re: lead http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline I've innocently brought up the Cincinnati Lead Study in a few conversations over the past few years, and each time people went totally berserk. For whatever reason a lot of people don't want to even entertain the idea that pollution could influence behavior. People really want to believe that antisocial behavior is caused by a "bad attitude" or whatever, and that a bad attitude and criminal behavior is best resolved with hitting and yelling at people and then throwing them in prison. I have heard this before but never really read into it fully. It really explains a lot and is a great article. Maybe if the people you spoke with read the article they would believe it? In hindsight, something that the police unions, prison unions, fire unions, etc. don't want to hear. Don't even bring up the theory that the reduction in crime rates correlates to legalized abortion.
October 15, 201410 yr ^ this mentions a UC study re: lead http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline I've innocently brought up the Cincinnati Lead Study in a few conversations over the past few years, and each time people went totally berserk. For whatever reason a lot of people don't want to even entertain the idea that pollution could influence behavior. People really want to believe that antisocial behavior is caused by a "bad attitude" or whatever, and that a bad attitude and criminal behavior is best resolved with hitting and yelling at people and then throwing them in prison. I have heard this before but never really read into it fully. It really explains a lot and is a great article. Maybe if the people you spoke with read the article they would believe it? In hindsight, something that the police unions, prison unions, fire unions, etc. don't want to hear. Don't even bring up the theory that the reduction in crime rates correlates to legalized abortion. When I did my project in econometrics I read up on crime so much and like the author of that article was stating, I never came across lead poisoning, abortion, etc. I remember my professor and I controlled for around 10 different variables through 100 cities across the upper Midwest. The only things that came out significant were unemployment and barely significant for public safety units. The one thing that came through was, and forgive me because this has been awhile, capture variable? Basically a variable that is there to capture what the rest of the model didn't. What this was explained as was "inertia". Basically, whatever caused crime in 1990 wasn't capture and is still causing crime in 2010, but we can't figure it out. So crime has inertia, past performance measures future performance to a certain degree. Interesting stuff. I wonder what a fully vetted, large econometric model would look like with all possible variables plus lead levels per capita as a variable. (Maybe that is what already has been done?) Though, that would be extremely complicated as it looks like there is a 23 year lag time. It would take a PhD in Econometrics at least to build a model that complicated. One of my professors told me that, if you think of a good model or study, chances are very very high that somebody already did it! Damn the bad luck!
October 15, 201410 yr Was looking at police stats to get an update. Came up with these numbers on violent crime city wide. I took year to date 10/04/2014, divided by 10 and multiplied by 12 to get yearly number: Only nine months were completed in that time span.
October 15, 201410 yr Was looking at police stats to get an update. Came up with these numbers on violent crime city wide. I took year to date 10/04/2014, divided by 10 and multiplied by 12 to get yearly number: Only nine months were completed in that time span. Haha yes, thank you. Ok so the correct numbers should be: 2014: 2,339 violent crimes 2013: 2,420 violent crimes 2011-2013 average: 2,568 violent crimes Violent crime rate (total violent crimes divided by 300,000, multiplied by 100,000) 2014: 780 per 100,000 2013: 807 per 100,000 2011-2013 average: 856 per 100,000 Read more: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?action=post;quote=729740;topic=3152.2415#ixzz3GE7t13ou
October 15, 201410 yr ^ this mentions a UC study re: lead http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline I've innocently brought up the Cincinnati Lead Study in a few conversations over the past few years, and each time people went totally berserk. For whatever reason a lot of people don't want to even entertain the idea that pollution could influence behavior. People really want to believe that antisocial behavior is caused by a "bad attitude" or whatever, and that a bad attitude and criminal behavior is best resolved with hitting and yelling at people and then throwing them in prison. I have heard this before but never really read into it fully. It really explains a lot and is a great article. Maybe if the people you spoke with read the article they would believe it? In hindsight, something that the police unions, prison unions, fire unions, etc. don't want to hear. Actually the one time I mentioned this to someone he quickly countered with the proliferation of conceal-carry as being responsible for the reduction of crime. Okay, dream on big guy. The bottom line is that violent crime of all types (and even teenage pregnancy) has dropped dramatically since 1990, but people are convinced that "things are getting worse". Just listen to Joe Deters' current endorsement of Judge Mock. Convincing people that things are getting worse and that you are the solution to problems that don't really exist is something that will never go away.
November 7, 201410 yr http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2014/11/06/grand-jury-declines-criminal-charges-against-tyler-brockman/18614785/ Unbelievable! I imagine that everyone here has seen the cruiser dash cam. There's absolutely no way that the police officer needed to draw his weapon, she was driving the car at almost idle speed.
December 17, 201410 yr Hey all, a friend who was working crew on the film that recently wrapped in Cincy, The Blunderer, was assaulted and mugged after leaving Motr one evening last week the crew had offered to give him a ride back to their hotel but he declined, having had a few and wanting to walk it off a bit. A black man, middle aged, not a kid, came out at him from the shadows and violently knocked him to the ground, taking his wallet from his back pocket. They physically struggled over the wallet for a minute but my friend's shoulder was hurt and he couldn't get it back. The guy took off into an alley and my friend got up and gave chase, but couldn't catch up. He didn't want to file a report as he had had a good amount to drink and kind of felt stupid for walking when people had said OTR wasn't the best place for walking. But I wanted to report it on here as I know you guys track stuff like that.
December 17, 201410 yr I think it is a mistake to think the Over-the-Rhine is safe with all the new development going on. OTR has made significant progress, but is still an extremely dangerous place and will be for many years to come. I know we like to stress the progress that is being made, but it is foolish to ignore the many remaining issues. It is best to warn friends and family who are planning on coming down to OTR to stick with groups and avoid some of the worst areas of the neighborhood after dark. "Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." - Warren Buffett
December 17, 201410 yr Yeah, there are muggings that happen around that area, especially off of Walnut Street and once you get past the 15th Street area of Vine towards Liberty. Not a good place to be alone after dark.
December 17, 201410 yr I think calling present-day OTR "extremely dangerous" is a bit extreme, but I agree with the sentiment. There are still pockets where I wouldn't walk alone after dark, any many of those are only a block away from the fully-developed parts of the neighborhood.
December 17, 201410 yr Walking alone at night anywhere is a stupid idea. I know someone who was punched and mugged just off Hyde Park Square walking alone. It's just a poor plan. I'd also agree calling OTR "extremely dangerous" isn't really accurate. There are definitely places in OTR that are, but those aren't the same places people are going out, going to bars, having dinner, or even living, etc. They're the places that are still fully abandoned, dark, shady, and only inhabited by people who come into the neighborhood to do their business and leave.
December 17, 201410 yr There were parts of OTR and DT that I would not feel safe walking through at night - and some areas of OTR in the day, by myself at least. When I moved into OTR in 2006, pretty much anything north of 12th was pretty sketchy, and between Central Parkway and 6th, it felt pretty deserted and hostile, especially by the library. A few of my friends were mugged on Court and by the library over the six years I lived in the city, one in a group of people, the others alone. It's definitely improving. Having density and the right kinds of people around make a neighborhood safe to walk around in. People shouldn't need to be packing a gun, mace or a whistle just to go to the bar down the street. But now it's improved to the point that anything south of 14th is pretty safe, relatively speaking. Baby steps. -- Sorry to hear about the beating on here. I was in touch with the guy during the shoot and although he is fine - I'm not sure OTR left a good impression on him after the incident. Others who worked the set really loved the neighborhood and city and saw a lot of potential in it.
December 17, 201410 yr Muggings like these, and the ones that happen way to frequently around UC, are always going to be a threat in urban areas, especially ones where drinking is a primary activity, as victims who have been drinking are more susceptible. I try to avoid walking alone when I’ve been drinking because you can’t be as aware of your surroundings if you’re impaired. If sober, you can use your natural instincts to avoid people who look like they’re out looking to cause trouble. As un-friendly as it sounds, if someone looks even a bit sketchy and they’re close enough to strike you over the head, they’re too close; cross the street, turn around, or keep an eye on them. If I’ve been drinking I promptly forget to remain aware of my surroundings.
December 17, 201410 yr Of course. And he knows that, and feels stupid. But I also pointed out that drinking and walking around is not a crime, and blaming him is equivalent to victim blaming, and I know we're all not into that here. There's of course a certain amount of awareness and caution you should exercise when you're in an urban area, but it's still a shame it happened and someone shouldn't be a victim just because they had a few drinks and want to walk it off. But I know what you mean.
December 29, 201410 yr http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/police/crime-statistics/city-wide-stars-report/ Through December 20, both murders and robberies were down 15% compared to 2013. Glad to see the improvement.
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