Crime is down 13% compared to the last three summers, but Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said there's still work to be done at a Wednesday press conference held one day after the shooting death of 13-year-old Curtis Jackson.
"As last night's event tells you, we still have a lot more work to do," Bibb said. "And we intend to always use an all of government approach to make sure that everybody in our city feels safe moving forward."
Bibb attributes the city's crime reduction to a multi-prong plan to address high crime rates in recent summers, including the city's $10 million Neighborhood Safety Fund, which provides grants to grassroots organizations already doing violence prevention throughout the city. He also said partnerships like the one with the Ohio State Patrol to crack down on traffic enforcement assisted to reduce crime.
Bibb also touted new policies, like allowing tattoos and beards, and pay hikes for police officers and cadets to encourage recruitment. The city is still short more than 200 uniformed officers of the 1,350 budgeted for the year. Cleveland Division of Police leadership said they are attempting to keep full staffing in specialized units like homicides, sex crimes and domestic violence.
"We'll continue to work as hard as we possibly can to attract new officers to our department," Bibb said.
Cleveland's crime drop follows a national trend: data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this summer found that violent crime fell more than 15% in January to March as compared to the same period in 2023, with murders falling more than 26%. In Cleveland, homicides are down 7% this year.
But Bibb said the city's effort to reduce crime wasn't just about getting guns and criminals off the streets: he said the city has dug in on issues like illegal dumping sites and graffiti removal.
Last week, Cleveland City Council leadership said their top priority for the upcoming session is safety.
