Crime Prevention Effort a Starting Point for Safe December

Police and volunteers from in and around the UC community will once again be going into the streets this Saturday, in the name of safety.

UC Police, officers from Cincinnati Police Distrct 5, student volunteers and other concerned community members will be distributing 4,500 crime prevention door hangers in the neighborhoods around UC on Saturday, Dec. 2. The effort will begin at 9 a.m. at the UC Police Headquarters in the Edwards Center on Corry Street, and will end with a free lunch provided by Mac’s Pizza Pub.

This is the fifth door hanger distribution in the last two years, and these crime prevention efforts have been shown to have an impact. Last year, an impact study funded by the Ohio Service for Crime Opportunity Reduction and conducted by UC’s Criminal Justice department found that a previous door hanger campaign in December 2004 had resulted in a 49 percent reduction in serious crime in the targeted neighborhoods and a 74 percent reduction in thefts.

Early this fall, the UC Police Department and its partners in District 5 were awarded the CPOP Partnering Award at the second annual Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP) Awards Banquet.

The door hangers to be distributed are titled "Urban Living 101," and offer advice to students and residents on how to avoid being victimized by crime. (Full text of the door hanger is available here).

Volunteers can still become involved with this year’s campaign. For more information or to volunteer, contact Capt. Karen Patterson of UC Police at 513-556-4906.