‘Secret’ Police Study Finally Goes Public

A long-delayed study on the deployment and problems of Cincinnati police was released late this afternoon, more than six months after its completion. The study is dated Dec. 12, 2005, and its key findings previously were presented privately to the Cincinnati Business Committee, police supervisors and some city council members.

City Councilman John Cranley’s office distributed the study to council members at 4:50 p.m. today. Its release comes one day after Cincinnati officials based a potential $8 million budget policy on one of the study’s findings even though they’d never seen a copy in its entirety. (See Monday’s post “The Police Study They Don’t Want You to See” below.)

Cranley, who chairs the finance committee, is pushing to hire 100 more police officers, which could cost up to $8 million annually beginning in late 2008.

As CityBeat previously reported, Former Mayor Charlie Luken ordered the study in June 2005; it was conducted by John Linder, a police expert who consulted with New York, New Orleans and other cities in the 1990s. The study cost more than $100,000 and was paid with private funds from business groups.

Among the study’s findings, the Cincinnati Police Department has fewer officers per capita than other cities with high murder rates like Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit and Philadelphia. The department, which now has 1,028 sworn officers, would need 355 more officers to achieve optimum effectiveness and efficiency.

With improved technology, however, the department needs just 194 more officers to achieve the goal, the study states. The technology includes computer software that allows more sophisticated crime mapping and analysis.

The December report also lists several other suggested changes to improve the department’s operations, some of which were included in Mayor Mark Mallory’s anti-crime plan unveiled in late January. The changes include reorganizing the investigations bureau, combining the drug and vice units to work together in a more coordinated fashion; focusing efforts on mid-level drug dealers instead of street corner sales; and asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute more suspects under federal gun laws, which entail longer mandatory prison sentences.

Also, the study concludes that Cincinnati police should use a ComStat-style system to monitor crime trends and assess the performance of individual districts. Such a system is used in New York City, Baltimore and elsewhere. In most cities using the system, daily meetings are held to update hotspots and benchmarks are developed to gauge police progress.

Locally, Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. is proposing a strategy that involves weekly meetings with the assistant chiefs of the patrol and criminal investigations sections; district commanders would be required to attend only when called by Streicher.

In 1998, council unanimously voted to have police use the system, but that never happened. Former Councilman Pat DeWine renewed the push to use the system in 2003, to no avail. At the time, police supervisors said the system in place was sufficient.

The study criticizes police for not adequately developing intelligence data on crime, stating that the department compiles statistics but doesn’t analyze them.

Further, the study recommends changing how arrest warrants are investigated. In 2004 and 2005, only about half of fugitives with felony warrants were arrested; the others were added to the warrant backlog. The study suggests having the warrants squad identify 36 fugitive felons, keep six for itself and assign six to each of the city’s five police districts.

To address the concerns, Streicher also is planning an operation called “Full Court Press,” involving every non-patrol officer being required to spend one tour on patrol each week under district supervision.

— Kevin Osborne