Does This Man Live on Fountain Square?

Basil Sturgill? I don't think so, but that is the address he gave the sheriff when he registered as a sexual offender last week. He probably just got out of jail and had no idea what else to tell them when asked where he is going to live... I've seen other men list their cars, or even the sidewalk....

UC Initiative to Reduce Violent Crime

I thought this article was interesting and am linking to it, because it is in the UC magazine, which probably doesn't have a big readership:

Researchers save lives by unlocking the street code in Cincinnati

... Dozens of young men filed into a downtown courtroom last summer. ...they were summoned as a condition of probation or parole to sit through a surprise "call-in session," ...Facing them was an assembly of men and women -- law enforcement officers, criminal justice workers, social service providers and community members --hellbent on convincing their captive audience to end the bloodshed.

Cops laid down new stiffer rules with federal sentences. Weary moms described burying sons. And social workers offered job training as a way out.

By the end of the tense session, the message seemed to penetrate. Dead stares at the wall and blank looks at the floor gave way to more respectful glances, even full attention. A few in the benches actually broke down in tears. And afterward, astonishingly, the phones started ringing from those who wanted out.

... most shocking was the sheer number ready to give up their hardened ways. Experts who had implemented similar initiatives in other cities cautioned Cincinnati to expect a handful, at best, to take such positive steps.

... "When they come into these call-ins they are tough. They have this street image -- like this is 'BS' or they can't be bothered.

"Then the mothers (of the dead) speak. And you can see them hang their heads. They know. They can't escape the honesty of what these people are saying. "You can see their tears, especially when they say to them, 'Don't let this be your mother. This is the pain that's left behind.'"

... UC researchers ... have developed social networking models that pinpoint 67 different violent street groups in the city. ... data now allows researchers to literally generate a map of bad guys and "who has a beef with whom."

... the majority of the Queen City's killings have more to do with respect than drugs. ... the community can curb the number of homicides by disrupting the group dynamic that promotes a violent response as the method for addressing disrespect.

... what seems to set the Cincinnati method apart is its "carrot." CIRV relies heavily on social services and the community to reach troubled men who need a way out.

... today, the London Metropolitan Police are implementing the Cincinnati model. Closer to home, UC researchers will soon use state funds to take the CIRV plan to eight cities across Ohio.

Catalytic Converter Notice

I got this notice via the blockwatch group. My question, how do you know your catalytic converter has been stolen? Will there be muffler parts laying on the ground arouns your car?

In the event the catalytic converter is taken off your car
please do not move the car. Immediately call the police to
report the incident and they will dust the car for
fingerprints. The Cincinnati Police can be reached at
513.765.1212. If the police are not immediately available
to respond, please leave a contact number and your location
with the police dispatcher, for follow up investigation.

Gunshots

A few weeks ago, I had started a post about the decline in crime in downtown, but I never got around to posting it, because I wanted to find some links to statistics which I never found the time to do. Then, as bad luck would have it, a neighbor was held up at gunpoint Sunday. Then Monday, some dummy was shooting a gun in the Washington Park gazebo, and later in the day doing the same at 12th Street. Fortunately, no one was hurt in these incidents.

The hold up of our neighbor, happened at night at 13th and Republic. This corner has been a problem for many many years. In the 90's I witnessed a terrible incident here, and in 2001 Timothy Thomas was shot a few yards away.

Here is a 2006 photo of a memorial to a shooting victim at this corner:

 

Despite how real the danger is today, I still think it is improved from just a few years ago. Some people give credit to the crime reduction to the Sheriff or to the Cincinnati Police Vortex unit, however, I really think the decline has come as problem buildings have been vacated either of residences or businesses.

Glossinger's, which was for many years located at 12th and Vine, is now occupied by MiCa. In addition to cheap liquor, Glossinger's was the kind of place that sold glass tubes and Chore Boys, which are apparently needed when you smoke crack. The neighborhood is clearly improved with Glossinger's gone.

However, some streets are now so vacant of residents that we lack the inherent safety that come with crowds and eyes on the street. One of the reasons 13th and Republic remains dangerous is because vacant structures or vacant land stand at all four corners. Model Management is nearing completion of their rehab of the building shown in the photo above, and hopefully that will help.

Generally though, the types of crimes being committed is changing. Notably, burglary has declined. This post discusses why burglaries are on a long-term steady national decline.

They believe the decline is partly because everyone already has a TV and used ones are cheap. I remember the time when car stereos were being stolen out of cars a lot. I can't remember that happening now for maybe 10 years. Is it because stereos are plentiful? Part of it is technology. People got home security systems, and car alarms. Stereos started being made removable, then with removable faces. Then CDs were being stolen. Soon people won't be using CDs anymore, they will have all their MP3s and podcasts on their phone or Ipod, which they keep with them. And thus the crimes must be straight-on confrontation hold-up instead of a break-in, because people will carry the value with them. But even this is getting less profitable, as people carry less and less cash.

Retailers are also at risk, especially if they deal in a lot of cash, like the corner store. Security systems may help here, but generally safety should increase with increased foot traffic and more eyes. Do any stores refuse to take cash? I think that might be the route I would take if I had such a store.

Come to think of it, I haven't heard many car alarms lately. Have they become a thing of the past?

UC Worried About Crime from OTR

The News Record has the following quotes yesterday:

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.
...
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.

A Mother's Unconditional Love for a Bad Son

Channel 5 news had shocking video on last night of an inmate of the Hamilton County Justice Center. The video shows the forcible extraction of an inmate, Michael Jackson, from his cell, but also shows the officers taunting him and shooting him at point blank range with pepper balls, when he is already shackled. I cannot believe that the officers involved have not been at least reprimanded.

 

But what really stuck with me after the news segment was the inmate's mother, a woman who appears to have led a very rough life, is pamphleting on her son's behalf. She admits he is criminal, but "you don't treat dogs like he was treated". There was something brutally honest about her.
Update: The footage of the mother is in the newly added second clip.

Local Store Owner Shoots at Robber

 

Joe Wessels got some choice quotes from the store owner on 9th and Elm Streets. I know that this guy is pretty ornery. I have seen him tell people to "get out of my store. I don't want to sell anything to you". So I am not too suprised that he pulled out a gun shot at a robber.

Nassar said he ran after the suspect and into the street and got off five shots before the gun jammed.

"I don't know how I missed him," said the Jerusalem native, who has been a United States citizen for more than 40 years. "I do very good on the pistol. I don't know why. I meant to kill him. That's what I told the police and the FBI. I meant to kill him."
...
The store - a block from Cincinnati City Hall and across the street from the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's Otto Armleder Memorial Education Center - is named after his two oldest sons, Nizar, 32, and Mohammed, 29. Mohammed served four years in the United States Marine Corps, Wade Nassar said.

Ringing up merchandise at the register wearing a dark suit, white shirt and dark patterned tie - he said he dresses that way every day to look professional - he knows many of his customers by their first name and regularly inquires about their lives.
....
"Go look for a job and don't come and stick me up," he said. "Kill or get killed. That's how it is."

Leis: OTR Patrols May End

In a recent meeting with the newly formed, Washington Park Homeowners Association, Simon Leis stated that if the jail levy doesn't pass, the extra patrols in Over-the-Rhine will most likely end. He said that the County just doesn't have the money. He said that he visits OTR everyday, and he knows the problems here well.

He also said that the litter in OTR bothers him a lot, and that is why he has inmates cleaning the sidewalks.

Second in command, Chief Donovan, also was very knowledgeable about the neighborhood, even knowing many of the Park regulars by name. Donovan owns a small business downtown and I believe lives downtown.

When I went to the meeting, I was surprised by a couple of things. First, is it typical that the Sheriff has his office in the jail building (Justice Center) and not the courthouse? The offices were very modest, and unassuming. There were lots of articles on the wall demonstrating the long history of the Hamilton County Sheriff's office, including the Courthouse Riot of 1884. Leis is 73 years old, and shows it. He served in Beirut in the Marines, and is a St. X high school grad. I think it is worth noting, that when Leis attended St. X, it was downtown, near the courthouse, and the tuition was under $100 per year. My impression is that he grew up in a very different Cincinnati.

I just googled the jail tax, and only found the site opposed to the tax. Is there a site that supports the tax?

Sex Offender Limits - Going Too Far?

I get an email almost everyday notifying me that a person convicted of sexual offense has moved into my neighborhood. Most of the offenders, have a listed address of 115 W. McMicken, which is the location of the Pogue Rehabilitation Center, a treatment facility for hard-to place male offenders, operated by the VOA. A few are at various apartments or at the Drop-Inn-Center, and a few are listed as residing at the Justice Center. I think I get notified of any offender that lives within one mile. You can sign up for this notification service at the Hamilton County Sheriff's site.

I appreciate the notification, as it gives neighbors a heads-up on a potential threat, however I feel that the restrictions on where these people can live is beginning to get overly restrictive:

Ohio bars registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school. But many city leaders have said that isn't tough enough.

Some have extended the buffer zones to 2,500 feet — about a half-mile — and added parks, preschools and other places to the restricted list.

One argument against the most restrictive bans is that sex offenders will simply stop registering or say they have moved somewhere else.

In my opinion, registration of these type offenders is a good idea. Increasing the distance they must be from schools, parks and daycares is unnecessary and could be counter productive.

There is another argument made by people who live closer to the Pogue Center than me that it is a deterrent to development and holds down property values. They also say that they attract placement of offenders from other places across Ohio. All this is true, but I don't really know what the solution, is.

UPDATE: Interesting site that combines all the sheriff's info into one searchable map. hat tip Jackie Danicki.

Main Street Nightclubs - Who do they attract?

A young man, a former marine was shot the other day after leaving his job at a Main Street Nightclub. Are these bars attracting a dangerous crowd? Here is a sample of the advertisements they keep putting on our cars and littering our parks with:

 

Rivera was shot as he was leaving his bouncer's job at Club Dream, between Main and Sycamore streets in Over-the-Rhine, at 2:48 a.m. Wednesday.

"He escorted someone out," ...
That's the person... who police believe waited in the alley for the club to close, then ran up to Rivera as he sat in his car.

Calls and an e-mail to Club Dream also weren't returned.

 

Uncivil behavior

Last night, I unfortunately witnessed a young punk with a temper hit his girlfriend. The woman had a two or three year old with her (probaly his child), and when the police arrived, she just walked away, and when pressed, said there was not problem. He was let go.

Almost as bad as the physical violence, was the verbal abuse slung at each other. While his punk friends stood around, this idiot fake-punched her several times, and called her all kinds of names, most which I can't understand.

Although I have lived surrounded by this culture for many years, I will never completly understand what is going on. I have heard that in 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan authored a report that said a crisis was brewing because of the breakdown of the black family in the late 50's and early 60's. Unfortunately things got much worse over the next decades. Seems like there has been some improvement from the 80's, but those left here in the bottom, wouldn't know it.