CINCINNATI — Ohio Representative Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) and a group of anti-violence advocates are pitching a solution to the city after two violent attacks in downtown Cincinnati involving groups of teens.
"I'm fearful that we're going to see a violent incident worse than what we've already seen," Thomas said.
Cincy Insights data shows juvenile violent crime was up slightly in 2023, with nearly 110 incidents in 2022 and more than 120 incidents in 2023.
In addition to Thomas, the group pitching a solution consisted of people who used to work for the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV).
This was the primary violence reduction program in Cincinnati from 2007-2015. The city said since then, CIRV has changed.
"I don't see what we were doing when we were in Winton Terrace, when we were in Avondale, when we would be on the blocks and people would talk to us," said Steven Sherman, a former CIRV outreach coordinator.
He and the other advocates said this is the key to youth crime reduction: connecting with the community, so they know these outreach workers, who can then intervene and prevent crime from happening.
Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long sent WCPO 9 a statement in response that said in part, "CIRV has evolved over time in response to changing crime trends. We cannot expect one program to be the only solution to gun crime in Cincinnati."
She also pointed out, funding for the program has been increasing since 2020.
"Whatever the city's doing, I applaud whatever it is, but it's not connecting directly," Thomas said. "The next step is to see if I can set up a meeting with maybe members of council."
Thomas said he had not yet reached out to the city to set up that meeting, as of Thursday morning.
Read Long's full statement below:
“CIRV (Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence) is still an active program used to reduce gun violence in our City. It is funded at historically high levels to account for the multi-pronged approach that now falls under this initiative. CIRV has evolved over time in response to changing crime trends. We cannot expect one program to be the only solution to gun crime in Cincinnati. It is critically important to proactively address the root causes of violence. It is not enough to show up after a crime has been committed. We also work closely with community partners to fund efforts through several grant programs that have a direct impact in areas where data shows crime occurs. In the coming weeks, I will have additional announcements regarding our violence intervention efforts.”
