Police district shuffle could help UC


The Enquirer/Liz Dufour
The University of Cincinnati could be lumped into one Cincinnati Police Department district under a proposed reorganization.

Written by
Cliff Peale

The University of Cincinnati could be lumped into one Cincinnati Police Department district under a proposed reorganization.

With its 194-acre main campus stretching through Corryville to Clifton Heights, to the borders of Mount Auburn and Clifton, UC is state property lying within the boundaries of Districts 4 and 5.

But a new consultant’s report has the city’s police unit considering a shuffle, Capt. Paul Humphries told UC trustees Tuesday.

“One of the things we are looking at is redistricting so the University of Cincinnati is in one district,” Humphries said.

New UC Police Chief Michael Cureton said cooperation with Cincinnati police, plus a continued emphasis on community policing, is critical in overseeing an area with nearly 4,000 students living on campus and at least 10,000 more in surrounding neighborhoods.

“You should be seeing more walking patrols around campus,” he said.

Last year’s crime totals for UC Police included 548 thefts and seven sexual assaults, Cureton said.

Trustees also approved a $365 annual tuition increase to $10,784 for Ohio undergraduates in fall 2012. Tuition for students from outside Ohio will pay $25,816 or $874 more, while the cost of graduate programs, housing, meal plans and other all will rise up to 10 percent.

Trustees said they regretted raising tuition but called it necessary to offset increased costs totaling $27 million from programs including staff and faculty raises, utilities and health care, subsidies to athletics, cash reserves and a new student information system.

Trustee Rob Richardson, who earned a UC undergraduate degree in 2002 and a law degree in 2005, pointed out that he paid about $5,000 per year as an undergraduate.

“I think we have to ask ourselves the question about whether we are doing things that are not sustainable,” he said.

UC also is imposing a 7 percent budget cut on most units, which they must fulfill by either raising more revenue or cutting costs.

There could be up to a dozen layoffs of staff members.

Enquirer President and Publisher Margaret Buchanan, one of nine UC trustees, was not at the meeting.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...|FRONTPAGE