Police hope water barricades installed in part of Over-the-Rhine will help reduce crime
Water barricades are now in place in an area of Over-the-Rhine in hopes of reducing crime.
Cincinnati police installed the water barricades at Green and Republic streets, an area they say is a hot spot for drug deals and crime.
Scott Ford, who lives in the neighborhood, says every night, a crowd of more than 50 people line their cars on this street and gather under an awning to drink, party and deal drugs. He hopes that will soon come to an end with the help of these barricades.
“Typically at nighttime under the awning, you can have 100 guys congregating on this block which creates noise issues, disturbances and other elements of crime,” Ford said.
For months now, Ford and neighbors have been working with police to reduce crime on their streets.
“The water barricades are one of many interventions that we are going to see what works and what doesn’t work,” Cincinnati Police Lt. John Cunningham said.
The lieutenant says the roughly 3-foot-tall barricades are part of a strategy the city calls "Place Based Investigations of Violent Offender Territories," which tries to reduce crime with the help of police and city leaders.
“We believe that there’s some transit problem where some people think it’s easy for them to come in and out to purchase drugs,” Lt. Cunningham said. “So, with these barricades, it’s going to break that up.”
Ford is not convinced these barricades will be the solution.
He has concerns about foot traffic, which Cincinnati Council Member Scotty Johnson says officials are watching closely.
“The water barricades will cut down on the car traffic,” said Johnson. “The foot traffic will be monitored by the officers on foot and bicycles to make sure we are doing everything we can to cut down on all the illegal activity.”
While Ford says this was a small step in reducing crime in his area, it is an important one.
“Seeing it unfold in the last hour gives me a great deal of hope that a turning point is finally going to happen,” Ford said of the water barricades.
Signs have been added to Republic and Vine streets to alert people that there is no longer through traffic from Republic Street onto Green Street.
Permit parking signs were also added to Republic Street.
Johnson and Cunningham say the city will continue to monitor the impact of these barricades on crime in the area and update these strategies based on that data.
Enquirer media partner Fox 19 provided this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Over-the-Rhine water barricades block through traffic to deter crime
