2009 MetLife Awards: Uptown Public Safety Initiative
Date Published: 12/02/2009
Author: Charles William Wilson
CASE STUDY
Uptown Consortium, Inc. & Cincinnati Police Department,
2009 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Neighborhood Revitalization Award
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Avondale — Cincinnati's fourth largest neighborhood — has long been an enigma. Home to such nationally-renown institutions as the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Avondale also consistently posted some of the City's highest crime rates. For more than two years, the Uptown Consortium has partnered with the neighborhood to revitalize its Burnet Avenue business corridor, once among the City's most vibrant. But bricks and mortar alone are not sufficient to "bring back Burnet"; safety issues needed to be addressed as well. Toward that end, ten local organizations — including the Avondale Community Council, Cincinnati Police Department, Uptown Consortium, Cease Fire Cincinnati, and others — have banded together to bring innovation and sheer will to bear on the problem. Central to their efforts has been the identification of crime "hot spots" through the use of crime mapping and analysis tools. This has helped make more efficient use of resources such as surveillance cameras and additional police patrols. As a result, Avondale has seen a 10 percent decrease in overall crime and a 41 percent reduction in serious crime involving firearms. More importantly, Avondale residents are seeing their neighborhood transform right before their eyes... and are more comfortable journeying outside to experience it.
Topic: --Community Safety
Type: Case study / model practice