'We, collectively, should try everything' | Solving the rash of youth violence at Cincinnati transit centers

CINCINNATI — Issues of mass teen fights, misconduct, jaywalking and more took center stage at a joint meeting of Cincinnati city officials and Cincinnati Public School leadership Thursday evening.

The problems have been a thorn in the side of people utilizing mass-transit centers like the ones in Government Square and Oakley as students get out of class and travel across town in large groups.

A solution to the problem has evaded Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge.

"There's got to be a solution to this. It cannot be police every day at the forefront of this," Theetge said.

The chief said her department has spent $416,000 in overtime just patrolling the region's transit centers at these times. And she said the problem hasn't been improving.

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"There's no responsible adult making sure they are somewhere other than where these groups are misbehaving," Theetge said. "I think that's part of the problem. Nobody is watching over them properly so the police end up doing that."

A group of volunteers who've tried to be the adults watching over students at transit centers addressed Thursday's joint meeting.

Iris Roley has largely been leading the volunteers at Government Square since February. She said the volunteers were present just as much to hold police accountable and avoid student arrests as they were to keep the kids from misbehaving.

"You cannot put police and kids and just leave them to their own devices," Roley said.

Roley said while volunteers have visited transit centers other than downtown in Government Square, she'd like to see the program expand.

"We want to encourage neighborhood people to come to these transit centers and work with these students," she said.

Vice-Mayor Jan-Michelle Lemon Kearney led Thursday's joint meeting and pointed to the council's allocation of $100,000 to compensate volunteers and $50,000 to feed young people at transit centers as support already provided.

She said additional funding could be allocated if necessary.

"Let's see what's needed," Kearney said. "I think that's the key."

Concerns of students fighting, jaywalking continue at Cincinnati transit centers

Emergency Communications Center Director Bill Vedra told the joint meeting that they were soon hiring a 12-person team of community responders that should be deployed in transit centers to support police and volunteers by year's end.

He said the first group of hires began training early this week.

"Monday through Friday, we intend to have those folks deployed being present as problem solvers," Vedra said.

Theetge said the solutions, whatever they may be, need to come quickly.

"Unfortunately, the police, we need quick, real-time, short-term solutions now," she said.

As for long-term solutions, the vice-mayor said the school district's proposed roughly $200 million restructuring plan could eliminate much of the need for cross-town mass transit.

Roley said the solution to youth violence needed to be much more comprehensive including the construction of affordable housing and programs to help people get out of poverty.

"We, collectively, should try everything," Theetge said.

CPS Interim Superintendent Shauna Murphy declined additional comment after Thursday's meeting.

The district, instead, issued a statement: