Ohio college students fear for safety, launch system to alert crime off campus
University of Cincinnati student fatally shot while trying to stop car theft off campus on March 30
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Students at the University of Cincinnati have banded together to create the Cincy Crime Stoppers Instagram page to alert students about incidents around campus.
A description for the Cincy Crime Stoppers says the page is for "Bearcats who live off-campus and have been a victim of a crime" to "send in anonymous tips to help keep" the "community safe."
"We're a group of student[s] … who have all been victims of different things while we're students at UC," said Hailey Smith, a criminal justice student in her junior year and representative for the page. "We noticed that there needed to be some sort of outlet for students to be more aware of what's happening around the campus."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smith added that the students who created the page — who have fallen victim to various crimes from armed robberies to break-ins, felt a need for more alerts about crime near campus. Cincy Crime Stoppers aims to do that by sending real-time alerts to followers.
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A description for the Cincy Crime Stoppers page says it is for "Bearcats who live off-campus and have been a victim of a crime" to "send in anonymous tips to help keep" the "community safe." (Michael Hickey)
"Cars on our street get broken into at least a couple times every month," Smith said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The UC junior is passionate about crime prevention and reduction and hopes the Cincy Crime Stoppers page has a positive impact on the community, even on a small scale. She and other students feel the university can be "vague" in crime alerts sent out to students.
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Cincy Crime Stoppers aims to not only give students more information about crime near campus but also help law enforcement get more tips.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}University of Cincinnati students have launched a crime alert page called Cincy Crime Stoppers. (Instagram)
"We want to get confirmed information before we send it out, of course, and we also want to put out … the most important stuff, but also this stuff that … is unreported by UC," she said.
Most recently, students are mourning the death of Benjamin Addison, a 21-year-old UC student who was fatally shot in the early morning hours of March 30 while he was trying to stop a car theft. Police named a 17-year-old suspect in connection with Addison's death.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Addison's father said in a Facebook post that two people were trying to break into the 21-year-old's Hyundai. Prosecutors are asking for the teen suspect's case to be transferred to adult court while the suspect's attorney is pushing for his release, according to FOX 19 Cincinnati.
Benjamin Addison, a 21-year-old UC student, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of March 30 while he was trying to stop a car theft. Police named a 17-year-old suspect in connection with Addison's death. (Facebook/GoFundMe)
"He was the light of my life and truly my best friend. He was such an amazing young man and I [don't] know if I will ever get over this pain. Please pray for me and my family," Joe Addison wrote.
UC has not released any kind of public statement acknowledging Addison's death, and Smith said students feel as if they've been left in the dark. The university did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
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"The school has not sent anything out. … Cincy Crime Stoppers is outraged. Parents are outraged. I know students are outraged," Smith said, adding that hundreds of students shared the post after Cincy Crime Stoppers shared the news.
Addison was a finance and IT major at UC's Lindner College of Business.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UC students seek more transparency about crime near campus. (Google Maps)
"Benjamin knew no stranger, he was kind to all, smiled constantly and was gentle and funny. He enjoyed collecting game cards including Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! He loved the Cincinnati Bengals and working out. Most of all, Benjamin loved spending time with his family and friends," an obituary for Addison reads.
Two days prior to Addison's death, a double shooting near UC's campus left a 21-year-old man dead, and a 16-year-old male victim was injured after a party on the evening of March 28.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While overall violent crime has decreased since the pandemic, teen shootings and vehicle thefts reached record numbers in the city last year since at least 2008, when the city began keeping shooting records online, FOX 19 reported.
In 2023, Cincinnati recorded 55 shooting victims between the ages of 13 and 15. The city also saw a record number of vehicle thefts, with 1,511 Kias and Hyundais stolen between January and July of last year.