Robin Engel, director of the UC Policing Institute, said she is concerned crime will spread from Over-the-Rhine to UC.
"As the city cleans up Over the Rhine crime is spreading and UC is a big target," Engel said.
Engel said violent offenders in Cincinnati differ from gang members in other cities.
"In Cincinnati, there are groups of guys that hang out, it's more loose knit than L.A. and Chicago gangs," Engel said. "We know of 1,000 individuals who are chronic, high-risk violent offenders; 650 of those individuals we know by name."
These individuals have been victims or suspects in 72 percent of homicides that have occurred in the past few years, Engel said.
Twenty percent of these individuals are on probation.
UC is a large target for robberies, and Cincinnati police are working with campus law enforcement officers to teach students how to avoid becoming victims of crime, Engel said.
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When homicides occur, the police focus on the perpetrators within the group, regardless of whether or not they are part of the homicide. Using 24-hour surveillance, police wait for the individuals to participate in criminal activity and then arrest seeking a maximum sentence, Engel said.
The Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence program, or CIRV, is also designed to help people involved in criminal activity to change their lifestyle, and program members want to send a message that counters the peer pressure of violence, Engel said.
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