Cincinnati City Council will vote Thursday on a 9 p.m. curfew for unsupervised minors along Short Vine in Corryville.
University of Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac (the former chief of the Cincinnati Police Department) spoke in favor of the ordinance in Council's Public Safety and Governance Committee Wednesday.
"From talking to both CPD and UCPD officers, they have mentioned that they're seeing a larger than normal amount of juveniles mixed into this crowd," Isaac told Council members. "So this is why this is a useful tool in helping to maybe thin that portion of it out."
Isaac says his officers have reported teens as young as 14 and 15 years old congregating in the area.
The rules on Short Vine would be the same as the special curfew district already in place Downtown and in parts of Over-the-Rhine. Anyone under 18 is not allowed in the area during the specified time, unless accompanied by an adult over age 21.
The same exceptions to the citywide curfew also apply, which include:
- a minor who is emancipated
- a minor who is going to or from employment
- a minor who is attending an official activity sponsored by a school, the city, or other similar organization
- a minor who is exercising First Amendment Rights protected by the U.S. Constitution
Teens violating curfew would be asked to go home. If they refuse, they could be taken to a city curfew center in the West End. A minor could be given a closed referral, which is essentially a warning and is not a citation or criminal charge.
The proposed Short Vine curfew district is only about two blocks wide, between Daniels Street and East Corry Street.
Council member Mark Jeffreys says students and business owners have told him the problems in that area are significant. But, he questions the effectiveness of another curfew district.
"Part of my question is, OK, we solve these two blocks — are they just going to go over to Calhoun? Are they going to go up to Clifton Gaslight? Are the kids going to gather in Northside, another neighborhood?" Jeffreys said Wednesday. "Is it just a whack-a-mole game where, OK, we solve this, and then they're going to go somewhere else, which was our initial concern with the the curfew Downtown — that they would just go to another neighborhood — and it looks like it's happening."
CPD Lt. Col. Matthew Hammer says it's hard to say exactly why crowds of teenagers are gathering on Short Vine.
"From my own experiences, I see some similarities between the DORA environment [at The Banks], the Main Street entertainment area [in Over-the-Rhine], and Short Vine as being sort of three areas within the city that have some similarities," Hammer said. "But I would also say that, like with any response, we should continue to monitor what happens next and be prepared to respond appropriately."
Jeffreys also questioned whether a 9 p.m. curfew would be effective, pointing out a couple recent violent incidents that occurred well after the existing citywide curfew of 11 p.m. That includes (close to 3 a.m. on Nov. 1); a (note: the six people indicted in that incident are all at least 18 years old).
"I guess it's worth a shot to say, OK, do we put the curfew earlier ... and maybe that clears the kids out of the area and prevents some of these later-night incidents from happening," Jeffreys said. "We've got to try something, but just looking at that, it doesn't directly address it, because a lot of the violence is happening after the curfew currently exists."
The goes through Nov. 8. It shows that so far this year, violent crime in Corryville is up about 26% compared to the same time period in 2024, and up about 30% compared to the three-year average.
Within that statistic, though, homicides and rapes are down compared to last year. The increase is thanks to a small uptick in robbery (17 reports in 2024; 19 in 2025) and more than double the number of aggravated assaults (10 in 2024; 23 in 2025).
In the most recent 28-day reporting period, data shows 11 reported crimes within the boundary of the proposed curfew district. Those include seven personal/other thefts, two rapes, one aggravated assault, and one burglary/breaking and entering.
The Public Safety Committee gave initial approval to, which requires a full Council vote Thursday. Because the ordinance is submitted as an emergency, it would go into effect immediately if passed.
Mayor Aftab Pureval told WVXU the city is focusing on the Short Vine curfew district instead of his proposed 6 p.m. curfew around Fountain Square. That's an area already within the 9 p.m. curfew district.
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