CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police say violent crime is down in the last 28 days after a spike in the month of June.
During their now bi-weekly press conference, city officials said data shows a drop in homicides, rapes and robberies over the last 28 days compared to in 2024. However, data provided by police shows burglaries and auto thefts have risen.
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. In July alone, there have been 28 shooting victims compared to 31 last July.
While that data shows a positive change, criminal shooting incidents and non-fatal shooting victims are higher than in 2024.
WATCH: City officials give an update on violent crime since CPD's task force started:
Chief Teresa Theetge said CPD's current focus "is on stabilizing" numbers.
"When we first reported out to you guys, (violent crime) was on the rise, it was increasing," Theetge said. "If we have a decrease, that's just kind of icing on the cake. Our real true effort was to stabilize and stop the rise."
Theetge linked the decreases in violent crime to the "amazing work" of CPD's new street crime task force, which was announced last month.
Police have also 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.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval was also at the press conference Tuesday and said he is calling a special session Wednesday afternoon to vote on a "comprehensive strategy" to address public safety in areas with high crime, specifically Over-the-Rhine and downtown.
In an attempt to address crime there, the city has already put restrictions on the use of Red Bikes in those areas during weekends. WCPO is told both residents and police raised concerns about how some are riding the bikes to break into cars or property.
Pureval said they will be discussing park hours and enforcing curfew as a way to address some issues.
