NEWS

Police focusing on top 20 neighborhoods for car theft

Patrick Brennan
pbrennan@enquirer.com
Cincinnati police on Thursday launched an interactive website dedicated to cases of car theft, and property theft from cars.
  • Cincinnati police launch interactive crime-prevention website
  • Westwood No. 1 neighborhood for property theft from autos%2C according to police statistics
  • Central Business District/Riverfront No. 2 on list of high-crime neighborhoods

Cincinnati's Downtown, Hyde Park, Over-the-Rhine, Oakley, Riverfront and Westwood neighborhoods all have something in common.

It isn't good.

Each of these Cincinnati neighborhoods is struggling with auto theft, and property theft from autos in particular, according to Cincinnati police. These six neighborhoods, along with others, hold the unfortunate distinction of being one of the top 20 in the city for auto-related thefts.

Affluent and low-income areas alike have been stricken by this growing epidemic.Cincinnati Police Department aired out its struggles, successes and future plans for combating auto-related theft ("theft from auto," or TFA, as police say) during a Wednesday presentation at Taft High School.

Cincinnati police are redoubling efforts to prevent TFA because, in some neighborhoods, the instances of theft are up 100 percent in year-over-year comparisons, said Cincinnati police Lt. Col. James Whalen.

The city will be focusing efforts on the top 20 neighborhoods for TFA in the city from data during the span of Jan. 1, 2014, through March 31:

1. Westwood (414 TFA's, also home to the most shoplifted Walmart in America at 2322 Ferguson Rd, police said).

2. Central Business District (Downtown)/Riverfront (365)

3. West Price Hill (267)

4. Over-the-Rhine (255)

5. Clifton (252)

6. Fairview (177)

7. Clifton/University Heights (173)

8. Northside (146)

9. Corryville (131)

10. Oakley (122)

11. East Price Hill (122)

12. Walnut Hills (112)

13. Hyde Park (109)

14. West End (101)

15. Mt. Auburn (101)

16. Avondale (99)

17. College Hill (96)

18. Mt. Washington (79)

19. Mt. Adams (78)

20. Pleasant Ridge (76)

Preventing TFA

Representatives from each of Cincinnati's five police districts discussed measures being undertaken to help prevent TFA. These include warning signs in parking areas and vehicle theft report cards left on car windshields by police.

An Enquirer reporter failed his police-administered vehicle theft examination conducted during a police presentation at Taft High School Wednesday. Police will conduct similar examinations in neighborhoods known for theft from cars.

There are simple steps citizens can take every day. Things like double-checking you locked your car, putting valuable in the trunk and parking in well-lit and visible areas.

The city also launched an interactive website dedicated to TFA in Cincinnati.

The site allows users to search for auto thefts and TFA's by police district, neighborhood, intersection and address.