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  • Public Safety

    ‘Tweaking’ or Troubled? Always Check on Drivers in Distress 

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    Overdoses, False Alarms, and Needle Sightings: Drug Crisis Keeps Portsmouth Police Busy 

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    Good Kids CPS

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    Woodbine Apartments

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    Family Dollar

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    Southern Ohio Human Trafficking

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    Pit Bull Bites Baby’s Face & Other Cases Highlights Strain on Animal Control 

    Good Samaritan 2

    Man on Dating App Does the Right Thing — Calls Deputies After Suspecting Teen Contact 

    SCDN File Photo

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    Scioto County Grand Jury Indictments

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    HEROES KICK DOWN DOOR TO SAVE ELDERLY MAN 

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    Man Reported Hiding in Bushes, Peeking in Windows at Portsmouth Apartments 

    Grand Jury

    Lucasville Pair Indicted on Child Sex-Related Charges 

    Union Township EMS

    Union Township Cuts Off EMS to Rarden – Here’s Why 

  • Lawrence County
  • Politics

    Democrats Blast Bryan Davis: “Quit Collecting a Paycheck You’re Not Earning” 

    Robert Horton

    Update in Robert Horton Corruption Case 

    Davis Commish

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    weird strange absurd

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    Bryan Davis Due Back In Court October 21 

    Sean Dunne Next Mayor of Portsmouth?

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    confused woman

    Portsmouth Council Weighs Asking Davis to Resign 

    Turning Point USA

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    Turning Point USA

    Portsmouth Politics Escalate: SSU Students Petition to Ban Turning Point USA

    Recorder Gary Jenkins

    Scioto County Recorder’s Office Increases Fees 

    Scottie Powell

    Commissioner Powell Responds to Conflict of Interest Questions 

    FOP Endorses Malone, Neff in Portsmouth City Election 

    Bryan Davis

    Where’s Bryan Davis? GOP Says Step Down — Court Says Suspended

    SCDN File Photo

    Where’s Bryan Davis? After Two Missed Meetings, GOP Says It’s Time to Step Down 

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    crisis question

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    Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis

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    Bryan Davis

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    Scottie Powell

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  • Feel Good
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    What Activities To Offer at a Family Fun Center

    Shawnee State University SSU

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    BREAKING: Commissioners Make Shocking Decision—Halloween to Remain on Halloween 

    Escape to the Hills: A Summer Reading List Set in Appalachia 

    Scioto County Champs: Lady Trojans and Word Wizards Bring Home the Gold 

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    Night Fishing: Who Is It for and How Do You Start?

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    Cops Rescue Lost Man 

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    Kid Misses Bus, Deputy to the Rescue 

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    Hidden Gems: Community Strategies for Mental Wellness

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    Man Says He’s Trapped in Armory 

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  • Obituaries
    Patricia Aileen (White) Attaway

    Patricia Aileen (White) Attaway of Georgia

    Bonnie Lafrida Riddlebarger

    Bonnie Lafrida Riddlebarger, 88 of New Boston

    Fontella Munn

    Fontella Munn, 87 of Lucasville

    Beverly Jane Kessinger

    Beverly Jane Kessinger, 82 of Friendship

    Barbara Williams

    Beth Ann Fite, 68 of Wheelersburg

    Barbara Williams

    Linda Kay Percell, 77 of Wheelersburg,

    William Emanuel Redoutey Sr

    William Emanuel Redoutey Sr., 80 of Portsmouth

    R. Eugene O. Collins

    R. Eugene O. Collins, 93 of West Portsmouth

    James E. Armstrong

    James E. Armstrong, 81 of Russell

    Leander Workman, Sr.

    Leander Workman, Sr., age 90, of South Portsmouth

    Phyllis Ann Murphy Picklesimer

    Phyllis Ann Murphy Picklesimer, 70 formerly of Lafollette

    Barbara Williams

    Deborah Sue Arnett, 73 of Wheelersburg

    Barbara Williams

    Phyllis Jean Porter, 81 of Wheelersburg

    James Taylor

    James Franklin Taylor, 94 of Wheelersburg

    Brian Keith Cogar, 68 of South Webster

    Patricia Salmons Smith 78 of McDermott

    Billy Ray White

    Billy Ray White, 66 of Portsmouth

    Leatha S. Queen

    Leatha S. Queen, 67 of Rosemount

    Timothy Eugene Coldiron

    Timothy Eugene Coldiron, 55 of Wheelersburg

    Penny Sue (Scaggs) Henthorn

    Penny Sue Henthorn

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The Cash Register’s Ringing—But So Are the Sirens 

Ross Madison by Ross Madison
1 month ago
in Public Safety
Nuisance Properties
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Some businesses in Portsmouth don’t need a neon “open” sign—they’ve got the flashing lights of cruisers arriving night after night to let you know something’s going on. And no, we’re not talking about the boarded-up buildings falling in on themselves. We’re talking about active nuisance properties. The shady motels, the corner stores with questionable “customer” traffic, and the nearly hidden shops where the main product seems to be plausible deniability. 

These places aren’t dead. They’re thriving. Money is flowing, rooms are occupied, and shelves are stocked—911 knows their addresses by heart. These nuisance properties are not falling apart on the outside, but they’re rotting from within, dragging entire blocks down with them. 

For those who remember how Portsmouth used to deal with these parasites, there’s a certain old-school strategy worth revisiting. One that didn’t rely on high-tech dashboards or algorithms. It was called herding. 

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🚔 Herding: The Human Algorithm That Worked 

Back in the 1970s and ’80s, police used a direct, unrelenting method to handle chronic problem businesses. They believed in wearing out the welcome mat at crime-ridden spots, herding meant this: 

  • You don’t just respond to a call and leave. 
  • You stay. 
  • You show up again the next day. 
  • You make your presence felt—every hour, every shift. 

Park the cruiser out front. Walk the property. Ask for IDs. Check cameras. Knock on doors. Let every customer, clerk, dealer, and loiterer know: this place is under the microscope. 

Was it annoying? Yes.
Was it effective? Absolutely. 

Criminals hate visibility. They crave anonymity and chaos. Herding stripped that away. It pressured property owners to clean up, or eventually close up. It turned “nuisance properties” into productive spaces—or made them disappear altogether. 

The best part? It didn’t require a federal grant or predictive software. Just time, consistency, and guts. 

🔮 Predictive Policing: The New Digital Fix 

Fast forward to today. Police departments across the country are buying into predictive policing software—AI-powered platforms that digest historic crime data, dispatch logs, and neighborhood patterns to forecast where future crimes are likely to occur. These aren’t gut-based hunches. They’re data-driven “zones” meant to tell officers: “Go here. Trouble’s coming.” 

In theory, it’s efficient. Smarter patrols. Better allocation. Faster response. 

But it also opens the door to a dangerous trend: pre-crime policing.
When we rely too heavily on algorithms, we risk treating areas like suspects, and businesses like future crime scenes before a single offense is committed. 

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Worse, it becomes easy for nuisance businesses to hide behind the algorithm.
If they’re not flagged as a “hot zone” by the software, do they still get attention? Or do they just slip under the radar—again? 

💡 There Is No Substitute for Pressure 

The truth is, AI can suggest where to go—but it can’t replace what herding did best: make criminals and negligent business owners deeply uncomfortable. 

There’s no better deterrent than consistent, visible police presence. Not just a patrol car using a random parking lot as a coffee break spot. But targeted, deliberate, stay-on-it pressure. (Fun fact, they can still drink their coffee) The kind of presence that makes the guy loitering out front look over his shoulder. That makes the clerk think twice about what’s happening in the back room. That herds a bad business toward one of two futures: clean up, or close down. 

🧠Less Talk, More Walk 

Portsmouth doesn’t need to predict crime. It needs to confront the places where crime is already happening, right now, under the illusion of commerce. 

Those shady motels raking in daily cash while hosting overdoses and assaults? They’re not community businesses—they’re liabilities wearing price tags. The longer we wait for data to tell us what we already know, the more we let these places drain the city one broken promise at a time. 

So yes, tech has a place. Predictive zones can help. But the badge still beats the algorithm. And boots-on-the-ground pressure still clears out more garbage than any software dashboard ever will. 

Tags: CrimefunNewsletterPolicePortsmouth
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