CINCINNATI — As city leaders tout the success of recent efforts to lower violent crime, some aiming to turn the political tide are pushing back against claims that data is pointing in the right direction.
Members of the Charter Committee, an independent political organization, gathered outside City Hall on Wednesday to condemn the administration's now biweekly crime and safety press conferences. Five candidates are vying for city council in November, seeking to unseat current members who they claim have failed to propose actionable solutions.
"The violence in our city is not just a headline, but it's really hurting our families, our children and a sense of safety," said Laketa Cole, who previously served on city council from 2003-2010.
City council met for a special session one hour after Cole and her fellow "Charterites" spoke with WCPO. The group condemned council's discussion of enforcing a citywide curfew for unaccompanied minors, claiming it to be "too little, too late."
"If we were going to have a serious curfew, it would have started in the early summer. Curfew? You're asking the police to babysit people. You're asking them to do a job that they really shouldn't have to do," Don Driehaus said. "We seem to be a day late and a dollar short with where council is in dealing with this problem of what's going on in the streets of Cincinnati."
WATCH: Group vying for seats on Cincinnati city council slams administration for lying about state of violent crime
During the city's Tuesday press conference, Cincinnati police Chief Teresa Theetge shared that violent crime dropped 8.2% across the city in the past month. The data shows a drop in homicides, rapes and robberies over the last 28 days compared to 2024.
Additionally, data shows there are fewer shooting victims year-to-date than in 2024, 2023 and 2022. At this time, Cincinnati has seen 156 shooting victims citywide. In 2024, that number was 201.
Theetge linked the decreases in violent crime to the "amazing work" of CPD's new street crime task force, which was announced last month.
Despite the positive trend in some areas, the Charter Committee claims leaders are cherry-picking statistics to paint an unrealistic picture of safety in the city.
Police data shows burglaries and auto thefts have risen citywide in the past month. Meanwhile, some neighborhoods are seeing a spike in both violent and property crimes.
"We've been told that crime is going down. Yet, the average Cincinnatian is pulling up their phone every morning seeing push notifications of shootings and other things happening in the city, and so, the math doesn't math. So, I think that's eroding trust and causing apathy," said Aaron Weiner, a 25-year real estate professional who serves on the Boards of the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
We looked through public data made available on CPD's website. According to the most recent neighborhood report for CUF, violent crime is up nearly 21% from last year. Property crimes are up more than 72%.
Data shows five violent crimes in the past month and 76 property crimes, including 21 burglaries, 19 auto thefts and 25 personal thefts.
In Walnut Hills, violent crime is up more than 31% from last year, with three homicides, seven rapes, 10 robberies, 27 aggravated assaults and three strangulations. In the past 28 days, the neighborhood saw auto thefts rise nearly 86% and personal thefts double from five to 10.
While data shows Bond Hill has seen a decrease in both violent and property crimes in the past month, both categories are still significantly higher year-to-date than in 2024.
"There's a shooting every night out here, and I hear it. It scares me sometimes," Sharon White said.
White lives in Avondale, where overall crime is trending down. Violent and property crimes are at their lowest since 2023. However, those numbers represent the neighborhood as a whole.
Data shows there have been three robberies and an aggravated assault within blocks of White's home near MLK park in the past month.
"You can't sit outside, your kids can't sit in the park sometimes because there's a lot of shootings," White said. "Look at the kids. We're losing all our children. It hurts me a lot to hear about people losing their kids over stupid s—t. Put the guns down. Stop the violence."
Clifton has seen a rise in violent crime from last year. Data shows there have been 13 robberies and nine aggravated assaults so far in 2025. Burglaries and personal thefts went up in the past 28 days, too.
We reported on a late-night street takeover on Ludlow Avenue in Clifton earlier this month, which resulted in 11 arrests after dozens of people crowded the street, blocking traffic and partying between 3:40-4 a.m.
Surveillance video provided to us by the Clifton Business Association showed a man walking down Ludlow Avenue around 3:30 am Sunday, brandishing an assault rifle. When we asked Theetge about the incident during Tuesday's press conference, she told us her team was working on identifying the man.
"Looking at some of the videos we're seeing from neighborhoods, like Clifton with the street takeovers, no one is taking the city up on its free dance lessons at 2, 3 in the morning when they're doing street takeovers," Charter Committee member Steve Goodin said.
Goodin is a former Hamilton County prosecuting attorney and served on Cincinnati City Council for a year, appointed to fill a seat following the arrests of former council members P.G. Sittenfeld and Jeff Pastor.
Goodin slammed the violence reduction strategy introduced by city council in January, known as Achieving Change Together for Cincinnati (ACT for Cincy). It includes investments of nearly $3.2 million into initiatives to combat gun violence.
"What it includes is nearly $850,000 for basically some free groceries in certain neighborhoods in the hope that the groceries will make gun violence less likely," Goodin said. "It is comical. There is money for gardening, in hopes that people will start gardening rather than engaging in youth violence. It does not touch what's really happening. Imagine if this $3.2 million was spent on a real summer jobs program, was spent on apprenticeships, was spent to actually keep the city's rec centers open later than 7 p.m."
Two rec centers stay open until 10 p.m. Saturday nights during the summer. It's part of the city's Rec @ Nite program, which aims to give teens a safe place to go. That program ends on Aug. 9.
Charter Committee-endorsed candidate Dawn Johnson, who serves as president of the North Avondale Neighborhood Association, said she doesn't believe city leaders are telling the truth about violent crime. She said the city is investing more in downtown and Over-the-Rhine development than in at-risk youth.
"What I take personal insult with is that 3CDC is paying $60,000 a month to force the police to patrol the streets of OTR, and I think they're pulling the police away from the streets that really need it," Johnson said. "That's insulting because if you have that type of money, invest it back into the neighborhood, invest it back into the people and into the youth, because safety isn't just about policing. It's about investing into the people and into the policies that really affect the people."
Police have added a detail in one part of Over-the-Rhine, increasing visibility in the afternoons and nights. However, some have questioned the detail's purpose and impact as data shows most violent crime remains in another section of the neighborhood.
Theetge said that detail is "not about the violent crime" but about the "quality of life issues" in Over-the-Rhine, saying the city and residents have committed a lot of effort into the neighborhood and she hopes that the detail will address their concerns.
"This is more about — there is a lot of investment that has been made in OTR. I have been watching it since I was a District 1 captain in 2008. I've seen it grow," Theetge said.
How are Cincinnati residents responding to the city's efforts?
As Cincinnati city leaders are considering stricter enforcement of the citywide curfew for unaccompanied minors, restricting park hours and expanding The Banks' 21-plus policy to other downtown areas, residents who spoke with us have a mixed reaction to the efforts.
"I don't agree with curfews," Clifton resident Pam Latham said. "It's not treating the reason; it's just aggravating the symptom. People are dissatisfied, they're upset, (and) there are deeper causes. I don't believe curfews help."
When asked if city officials are all talk and no action on crime, Latham didn't hold back.
"I think so," Latham said. "I think they are all talk because they think it'll reflect badly on them in the next election."
Watch residents react to the new crime prevention measures city officials are discussing:
However, not all residents oppose the curfew enforcement. Sean Cure, who lost his son to violence about two years ago, supports the measure.
"Curfew — it's going to shrink the problem," Cure said. "The curfew is good."
Cure now sits outside OTR's Washington Park with a sign that reads "Stop Killing," hoping his message will make a difference in his community.
"You could be ready to go do something; that sign might save a life, man. That's what it's really about, trying to get these youngsters to stop this killing out here," Cure said.
For Cure, addressing violence requires multiple approaches, including increased police presence and better opportunities for young people.
"It's going to have to take more than just talking about it. We're going to have to pay the police more; they're going to have to patrol these streets. These young kids out here killing each other, you got to be tough," Cure said.
Cure also emphasized the need for economic opportunities.
"Give them jobs," Cure said. "All they want is money, man!"
WATCH: Learn more about the violence prevention strategies city council set in motion Wednesday:
