CINCINNATI — The director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steven Dettelbach, joined US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker, local law enforcement and roughly 75 anti-gun violence advocates in a private meeting to discuss life-saving policy measures Monday.
We pushed Dettelbach, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge for solutions to the city's gun violence problem.
Theetge said the meeting was an example of one avenue for violence prevention and deterrence.
"These partnerships are critically important," Theetge said.
Utilizing people from the community to help foster positive community relationships and provide information to law enforcement was key to reducing violence, especially among repeat offenders, according to Theetge.
"This is not something that the police can solve on their own," she said. "This is not something that we can just arrest our way out of."
McGuffey said the sheriff's office has been meeting with a group called Brothers Inc. for more than a year to make those connections.
"We're embedded with the people who are boots on the ground," she said.
Federal law enforcement leaders will be in Cincinnati this afternoon talking with local police about violent crime reduction efforts. Here’s what we know. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/rdexf7YNDy
— Connor Steffen | WCPO 9 News (@ConnorSteffenTV) August 12, 2024
Theetge pointed to significant reductions in violence — youth violence in particular — as evidence the connected approach to gun violence reduction has been effective.
"Right now our juvenile shooting victims are down 44% year to date," she said. "Our juvenile homicide victims are down 62%. That is not by happenstance. That is a very concerted effort through all of our partners at the CGIC."
The CGIC is the Cincinnati Crime Gun Information Center where local and federal law enforcement cooperate to collect data and use that data to target violent individuals and allocate dwindling resources in an effective way.
"There's a point at which you cannot do more with less anymore, and ATF hit that point a long time ago," Dattelbach said.
The ATF director said his bureau and others need additional funding from the federal government to capitalize on a drop in violence to further drive it down.
"Let's not get a sore arm patting ourselves on the back, right? We know what we're doing works, but that can change in a moment if we don't stay on top of it," he said.
Mitch Morris, a local anti-gun violence advocate who regularly visits shooting scenes, joined that call for additional resources.
"I need all the help I can get," Morris said. "It doesn't matter what the uniform."
Morris said if the federal and local law enforcement can capitalize on data through CGIC in concert with efforts by anti-gun violence advocates to prevent violence then maybe his on-scene visits won't be necessary anymore.
"I can't do it myself," he said. "These folks you see up here? It's the tool I need to put in my tool belt, and they're showing up. They're living proof."
