Shootings in Cincinnati down nearly 50 percent

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati police say shootings are down nearly half of what they were at this time last year.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac tells WCPO-TV there have been 56 shootings so far in 2018, compared to 108 last year.

Isaac says the biggest drop has been in the Avondale neighborhood, which has seen two shootings in the past three months compared to at least a dozen in years past.

He credits the neighborhood’s low numbers with the newly launched Neighborhood Enhancement program and the department’s use of ShotSpotter. The ShotSpotter system tracks the sound of gunfire and alerts police directly.

Isaac says the focus will be on keeping numbers down during the warmer summer months.