Cincinnati council concluded from reported pit bull bites that the registration program passed in 1999 hasn't worked. Wednesday, they voted 8-1 to reinstate a city ban on the breed. The registration program wasn't tried and found wanting. It wasn't tried. Only seven pit bulls were registered. In 1999, 134 owners of problem dogs were cited. The next three years, police cited only 100 in all.

Enforcement agencies need to join in cracking down on irresponsible owners and educate all owners on their obligations and risks. Drug dealers have been using pit bulls to intimidate residents. Complaints of stray pit bulls have jumped.

Councilman Pat DeWine sponsored the ordinances to ban pit bulls citywide, add one SPCA officer assigned solely to enforce the vicious dog law and make owners reimburse the city for the $20-a-day costs of impounding such dogs. The laws also will require owners of other dangerous dogs to register them by costly means, including paying a vet to imbed a micro chip in the dog and tattoo the animal with an ID number supplied by police.

Outrage over irresponsible dog owners is understandable, especially at owners who train pit bulls to fight other dogs or menace humans. Pit bull bites can be severe, because they tend to lock on and not let go. But singling out pit bulls will not solve all dangerous dog problems here.

"Breed bans don't get the job done," says Harold Dates, general manager for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SCPA). He served on 1999's broad-based commission that recommended lifting the pit bull ban. Dates still favors registration, educating the public, working with police to target irresponsible dog owners.

The city, county or state have not educated dog owners on their duty to keep vicious dogs confined, or on possible penalties and liabilities for not doing so. Some insurers won't insure a house with a pit bull. Ohio defines the pit bull breed as a vicious dog and requires owners of all vicious dogs to obtain liability insurance not less than $100,000. A second offense can make the owner guilty of a fourth-degree felony.

Cincinnati enforcement agencies should especially target crooks who use vicious dogs as weapons.

Related story:
City Council again outlaws pit bulls