CINCINNATI — New data from the city shows officers are taking longer to travel to calls for service after Cincinnati Police Department's District 5 closed.
Amid efforts to combat gun violence, residents can find updated crime statistics, links to key research and information on different initiatives under the ACT for Cincy section on the city's website. Among that information was CPD's S.T.A.R.S. (Strategic & Tactical Analytic Review for Solutions) report.
The original report posted to the website on Jan. 3, 2025, looked at response times from Dec. 28, 2024, year-to-date, showing average travel times for officers increased by more than one minute. City-wide, that accounted for a 24.09% increase per call. The report is no longer listed on the city's website. On Wednesday, CPD said there was an error in the city's reporting system, which added 13,000 minutes to one call and skewed the data.
CPD sent WCPO the revised response times from Dec. 31, 2024, year-to-date, which shows police response times did increase by about 30 seconds on average, a 6.3% increase.
CPD District 4's revised statistics showed response times increased by more than 30 seconds, with the average response time over 8 minutes compared to 7 minutes and 30 seconds in 2023. This is an area that includes 11 different neighborhoods.
"District 3 and District 4 by far took the biggest brunt," said Ken Kober, Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President.
Kober said those two districts took on the majority of areas to cover ever since CPD District 5 closed. He said that bigger area also accounts for longer drive times, which is something he hears officers complain about on a daily basis.
"Seconds and minutes matter, not only if an officer is in trouble and they're fighting with someone but also if there's a medical emergency and these officers are trying to get there to render aid until the fire department gets there," said Kober.
We also showed Cincinnati council member and forme police officer Scotty Johnson the original data before CPD's revisions. He said he was also concerned about the increased response times but wants to see more information from CPD.
"I think the greatest concern is those emergency calls for service, assaults in progress, shooting, things of those nature, that's where the deeper dive I believe needs to be looked at to make sure those numbers aren't increasing," said Johnson.
We asked both Kober and Johnson about potential solutions to the increased response times. Kober would like to see another police district established in the city but is skeptical that will happen since CPD District 5 closed in November 2023. Johnson also felt another police district should be on the table. Another suggestion was re-drawing the district lines.
CPD said Chief Teresa Theetge is currently reviewing all of 2024's data to determine if any modifications need to be made. Theetge is planning on giving a presentation to the Cincinnati City Council in the coming weeks.
