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City and CPS highlight Act4Cincy violence‑prevention work as shootings fall, officials say
Summary
City Manager Cheryl Long and Violence Reduction Manager Kate Bell presented Act4Cincy, a community‑driven violence‑prevention program launched in January 2025. Officials said police data show a roughly 17.9% year‑over‑year drop in shooting incidents and outlined gun‑safety efforts such as free gun locks and CPD temporary firearm storage.
City Manager Cheryl Long and Violence Reduction Manager Kate Bell outlined Act4Cincy, the city’s cross‑sector, community‑driven effort to reduce gun violence, telling a joint meeting with the Cincinnati Public Schools board that the program has moved from planning into funded neighborhood projects and outreach.
“Act4Scentsy was launched in January 2025,” Kate Bell said, describing a program built around community focus groups and five pillars: thriving neighborhoods, reduced firearm accessibility to youth, improved well‑being, expanded youth support, and evidence‑based policing innovations. Bell said the city has funded 10 projects on CPS property—“just under $225,000 so far”—targeted to neighborhoods experiencing gun violence and involving youth leadership.
Why it matters: City officials framed Act4Cincy as a coordinated approach that links city departments, hospitals and schools to reduce violence and support affected families. Bell stressed prevention strategies aimed at root causes—economic investment, beautification, placemaking and youth services—and operational efforts with the police department.
Concrete measures the city outlined include free gun‑lock distribution at Cincinnati public libraries and CPD distribution at some sporting events, plus a CPD safe‑storage program allowing firearm owners to temporarily store guns at secure CPD locations for up to six months. “Gun locks are being distributed for free at all of our Cincinnati public libraries,” Bell said. She added the city is exploring legal avenues to support local gun‑safety policies but noted state preemption laws limit the city’s authority.
Bell and City Manager Cheryl Long also cited recent police figures: Bell said citywide shooting incidents were down roughly 17.9% from 2024 to 2025 and down 22.8% compared with a three‑year average; she attributed those figures to the police department. When board members asked for more detail, Bell offered to work with the CAPS unit to provide age- and neighborhood‑specific breakdowns and said the city hopes to publish a public dashboard with those data.
Board members and councilors urged deeper outreach to parents, principals and youth. Dr. Kareem Moffett suggested making principals and school staff partners in gathering student input; he also said students sometimes withhold knowledge of hidden firearms because mandatory‑reporting policies make them reluctant to share. City staff pointed to youth forums such as the Youth Management Advisory Group as places to bring young people into problem‑solving work.
The meeting record shows plans for continued collaboration: officials said they will share information about Act4Cincy open houses and about partnerships—such as the Mayerson Center’s trauma‑informed care training and the Hope and Shield network, led by UC Health and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital—that deliver victim‑assistance and recovery services.
Next step: Bell said the city is preparing a public dashboard and can provide the board with more disaggregated youth data on request. The presenters filed their slides and invited further questions offline.
