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Not jumping to militarize communities the right call

In what sounds as though it might have been, shall we call it, a difference of opinion between Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters and Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac, Gov. Mike DeWine was roped in about the best way to handle an escalation in violent crimes in the city. In fact, Deters requested the governor send in the National Guard, reportedly telling DeWine armed guards on street corners was the best way to curb the recent uptick in shootings.

Instead of jumping to meet the request, DeWine wisely checked in with Isaac, who was firmly against the idea.

“That is definitely not what we want to do,” Isaac told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “We don’t want to militarize our community. We’re concerned about the loss of life. This is a challenge every city in the Midwest is going through. We’re going to continue to work hard.”

Deters should take heart that DeWine is planning a push to make state law match federal law when it comes to the ability to charge and convict felons caught with firearms.

“We need that,” DeWine said. “If you talk to detectives, if you talk to people who work in the cities, what they will tell you is this will enable them to make arrests and get convictions for people who are causing most of the violence.”

If the idea is to not fan the flames, or put anyone else in danger, that approach makes much more sense than sending in the National Guard to patrol the streets, at this point.

Kudos to Deters for being worried enough about his community to be driven to desperate measures in fighting the problem. But DeWine and Isaac have the right idea.

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