Over The Rhine placed under house arrest

CINCINNATI - This week city officials launched a sweeping crime reduction measure which will ultimately place the entire Over The Rhine community under house arrest.  The initiative is an effort to control escalating crime in the area in the face of crowded jail conditions and reduced funding for police patrols.  Mayor Mallory says a special police task force is currently deploying over 5,000 GPS enabled ankle bracelets on a street by street basis. The entire community is systematically being apprehended and placed under house arrest.

The Mayor says although there are many innocent people being arrested, most of those individuals see the inconvenience as a trade off for a safer community.  All non-residents have been ordered to leave the Over The Rhine community immediately or risk being placed under house arrest.  Homeless citizens will also be placed under house arrest and will be expected to stay in whatever vacant structure, parking lot, or roadside area they are residing in at the moment the ankle bracelet is attached.

City officials say the duration of the house arrest initiative is expected to be as long as it takes for crime in the community to subside to normal levels.  The house arrest period will allow Police to refocus crime fighting efforts in other high crime areas such as Lower Price Hill and The West End. 

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