CINCINNATI — Amid concerns over violence in downtown Cincinnati, Mayor Aftab Pureval and Police Chief Teresa Theetge announced changes to their downtown safety plan. One of those changes includes cracking down on people smoking weed in public.
The changes come after a shooting Monday night at Fountain Square. The shooting left two people injured, including a teenager.
The mayor and police chief held a news conference on Tuesday to discuss those changes.
Among these measures are increasing the police presence in Fountain Square and Government Square, and possibly creating and enforcing an earlier curfew.
Chief Theetge said during a Tuesday news conference that the police department will begin cracking down on lower-level crime. She said that includes people fighting and people smoking marijuana in public.
"If you are smoking marijuana on Fountain Square, expect to be approached by an officer," Theetge said. "That is not legal."
Hear what Theetge said will happen if you are caught smoking weed publicly in the video below:
However, some people are questioning how those new changes will be enforced.
We spoke to Ennis Tait on Wednesday, a community leader in the greater Cincinnati area for more than two decades.
Tait is a representative of the Faith and Community Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and serves as site director for Healing Cities Cincinnati.
"If people find that downtown is a safe place to be, everyone should be welcome," Tait said. "To create something that moves people out, that gets away from what we've been trying to build for the past 20 years."
Tait has been involved in various crime reduction strategies in the city. He said the police department has done a good job of implementing new efforts to combat violent crime.
"The police department has been consistent in its efforts to reduce violence across the map, or across the city," Tait said.
While Tait applauds the city's proactive efforts, he is also concerned about how these changes will be enforced.
We asked him about his thoughts on stricter enforcement for those smoking marijuana in public.
"I think the challenge would be whether you'll be profiling or whether you'll be looking for trouble because of that particular situation," Tait said.
Tait also expressed concern about potential curfew changes, saying some kids hang out downtown because they do not have a safe place to go.
He said city leaders need to collaborate with the community on their changes to avoid issues.
"If elevating police presence doesn't also involve some community aspect of the involvement, then that could create division," Tait said.
Tait said he trusts Theetge to make sure that does not happen and understands that these changes are about making the entire community safer.
"In order for the city to be safe holistically, we need to make sure that downtown is safe," Tait said.
