CINCINNATI — Cincinnati City Council unanimously approved a new curfew for part of Short Vine Street, making the area off-limits to minors after 9 p.m.
The ordinance was passed by the Public Safety & Governance committee Wednesday morning.
Here is the curfew district as first presented to city council on Tuesday:
The ordinance makes it illegal for any person under the age of 18 to be in or around the Short Vine area after 9 p.m. and before 5 a.m., with some exceptions. That changes the city's current curfew, which does not go into effect until 11 p.m.
Those exceptions include if the minor is accompanied by their parent or guardian over the age of 21. The curfew also won't apply to emancipated minors.
The rest of the exceptions listed include:
- Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the Constitution
- Going to or from work without a detour or stop
- Attending an official school, religious or recreational activity sponsored by the City of Cincinnati, or another organization
- An emergency
- Being on the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence, or the residence of a next-door neighbor with that neighbor's permission
- Running an errand or performing a task ordered by the minor's parent or guardian.
The new curfew zone entirely covers Short Vine between Daniels Street and Corry Street; it also appears to cover some sections near the intersections of Short Vine and Daniels, Short Vine and Charlton Street and Short Vine and Corry.
We spoke to University of Cincinnati Chief of Police Eliot Issac about the curfew on Wednesday.
"We all have to get our arms around this," Issac said.
Hear why city leaders feel this new curfew may help prevent crime in the video below:
Issac said, despite it being in an area with a lot of college students, there are also a lot of kids creating problems.
"It's not always overt violent crimes, but there is a significant increase in the chaos and disorder," Issac said.
We've reported on the crime that has occurred on Short Vine Street this summer. In April, Kyle Mirick was shot and killed standing outside of a liquor store. A 15-year-old was arrested and charged with his murder.
On Halloween weekend, chaos erupted on the street after multiple gunshots rang out. No one was hurt.
In August, city officials implemented a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors in parts of Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine and Central Business District neighborhoods.
We spoke to Jackson Ryan, a bartender at Mio's Pizzeria, about the proposal.
"It happened at the Banks, the Banks put a curfew up, but now that crowd is here," Ryan said.
Ryan said he was working on Halloween weekend when gunfire rang out.
"I was counting the drawer right here, heard two go off, hit the floor, then heard six, seven more go off," Ryan said.
He said he doesn't feel safe closing down the restaurant at night.
"I live two blocks away," Ryan said. "I live right off campus, I feel like I should be able to walk home, and that's not just something I have the ability to do when it's violent all the time."
Ryan said he's glad there's a new curfew and hopes it cuts down the problems they're seeing.
"We need to set an example," Ryan said.
What happens if someone is caught violating the curfew?
The plan is to currently handle curfew violations in the Short Vine area the same as they're being handled in the Downtown special curfew zone.
First, a Cincinnati police officer will engage with the minor and encourage them to go home; if they comply, the interaction ends there. If they don't comply, CPD can detain the child. If that child has outstanding charges, they will be taken to the juvenile detention center.
If not, it's up to the officer on how to handle the situation. If a child's parent or guardian can be reached, the officer can choose to drive the child home and hand them off to that adult. The officer can also request the parent or guardian to come pick up the child.
However, if a parent or guardian can't be reached, the CPD officer can take the minor to one of two places: Either the Seven Hills Community Center, where staff will take up the job of contacting the child's parent or guardian, or to the Mecum House run by Lighthouse Youth & Family Services if the child needs to stay into the overnight hours.
Both facilities will provide the juvenile with food, water and a safe place to wait until their parent or guardian can be contacted. Kids will also have access to counseling and other services while they wait.
During Wednesday's meeting, the assistant city manager said that since the curfew started in August, four teens have been taken to the curfew centers.
With that in mind, we caught up with the lead of the curfew center, Sheila Nared, on Thursday.
"That lets us know that it’s working," Nared said.
Watch our conversation about the curfew center here:
Nared said the small number of kids being brought to the center isn't a bad thing. In fact, she said she believes it shows kids are listening.
"The message is being heard," Nared said.
She said she'd be more concerned if that number was higher.
"What would you think if we had 1,000 kids?" Nared said. "Like, 'Oh these kids are off the chain,' or things of that nature, so it’s a good thing we have low numbers."
Nared said the center isn't just a place for kids to get in touch with their parents. She said the staff there help connect kids to community resources and offer mentorship.
"This is like, we want your attention, this is serious, this is your life," Nared said.
She said she believes police are doing a good job enforcing curfew.
While she said she's not sure if the extended curfew will bring more kids to the center, she said she will be ready to help them if needed.
"You have to be straight up with these kids today," Nared said. "It’s a lot of killing going on."
You can read the ordinance in full below:
