Though the violent crime rate in Cincinnati has been falling for years, violent crime involving juveniles has been on the rise. Since early February, multiple videos of violent incidents involving youths have circulated online, including CCTV footage of an incident on Government Square in which a group of teenagers brutally beat and robbed a pedestrian. 

These viral videos have caused discourse about the state of youth violence in Cincinnati, with citizens calling on the city government and local organizations to do more. Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan Michelle Lemon Kearney believes there could be many causes to the rise of youth violence.

“When we look at social determinants of behavior, it’s really difficult because there are a lot of social determinants in all of this,” Kearney said. “Affordable housing is a big challenge that causes a lot of stress. When families are food insecure, that causes stress [and] that causes problems… so, you have to look at some of the basics like poverty and the kind of lifestyle that can create [violence].”

One solution to this violence is being spearheaded by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. 

“The program that Children’s Hospital has is hospital-based violence intervention,” Kearney said. “When a shooting victim comes to the hospital, they look at what resources they need: ‘How do we not only help them with their medical needs but help them going forward? Are they experiencing homelessness? Do they need a job? Are they housing insecure? What’s going on with them that would help them in their lives to move forward and not to be in the same position that they were in when they were shot?’” 

The leadership of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital program is currently working to secure a grant to expand the program and increase its efficiency. However, Kearney emphasized that more must be done to truly curb youth violence in Cincinnati.

“There’s no panacea that is going to solve everything,” Kearney said.  “There are a lot of different problems, a lot of different challenges, and so we need a lot of different solutions.” 

Kearney emphasized the importance of providing ample opportunities and resources for youths, especially those living in poverty or underserved communities.

“In addition to mentorships, recreational solutions where people have a safe place to go after school, a place where they can get food to eat and [the opportunity] to be involved in positive activities… is another big thing that the city is pushing for more of,” Kearney said. “They need economic opportunities so that they see, ‘There’s a life for me, I can get this career, I can work this job where me and my family can be more economically secure,’ [and] that’s important too.”

Although the Cincinnati Police Department said overall shootings are 7% lower than this time last year, the amount of juvenile shootings in 2023 was at its highest point in the past 10 years with 58 reported victims, a 65.7% increase from 2022.

“A youth with a gun is a youth without hope,” Kearney said. “We have to give our young people hope, let them know that there’s a better way, give them economic opportunity and give them a lot of love.”