Reported violent offenses in Hyde Park have more than doubled year over year in the most recent Cincinnati Police Department neighborhood data, as we reported Oct. 21. Now seven Cincinnati council members are pushing for a citywide review of surging rape and strangulation numbers.
CPD's Oct. 12 STARS report logged 241 reported rape offenses year to date through Oct. 10, up from 154 during the same period in 2025. That is a 56.5% increase. Reported strangulations jumped from 222 to 334, a 50.5% rise, according to WLWT.
Councilmember Mark Jeffreys said the motion was referred to the Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 21. It requests a presentation within 30 days of passage.
"I think we all want to make sure that we're providing resources for one of the most horrible situations for any woman to experience," Jeffreys said.
The numbers come with caveats. CPD said it identified a discrepancy between its internal reporting process and the data submitted for external crime reporting and national statistics. As corrections are made, some older incidents are being added to STARS data based on when they were entered, not when the crimes occurred.
CPD's rape figures also include sexual battery reports. The department said a March 2025 change in state law expanded what qualifies as sexual battery to include sexual contact, increasing the number of reports requiring investigation.
A CPD spokesperson said the department has not identified a corresponding spike in the number of rape investigations for the current reporting period.
Beyond the police data, the nonprofit Women Helping Women is tracking its own surge in demand. Kristin Shrimplin, the organization's president and CEO, said hospital responses increased more than 150% in September 2026 compared with September 2025.
Among survivors the organization assisted at hospitals that month, 83% had experienced strangulation and 55% had experienced threats of homicide, Shrimplin said. Those percentages describe survivors assisted through hospital responses, not all survivors in the region.
Shrimplin credited partnerships with police, hospitals and courts with helping more survivors reach support. She acknowledged there is no single explanation for the violence advocates encounter.
The council motion also asks CPD to clarify written policies for connecting sexual assault survivors with Women Helping Women advocates, including in cases outside domestic violence. Currently, the Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT) dispatches advocates to domestic violence scenes to assist survivors and their children. Jeffreys said he understands support is already being offered and wants official written procedures to reflect it.
Neighborhood-level breakdowns of rape and strangulation reports for Hyde Park, Oakley and Mount Lookout were not available in the citywide data.
Anyone seeking support can call or text Women Helping Women's 24-hour hotline at 513-381-5610.
