Most violent crime reported to police in Ohio in 2022 went unsolved, according to a new report, and the numbers don't look good for several law enforcement agencies in Northeast Ohio.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan Council of State Governments Justice Center looked at reported homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies, and rapes that police agencies reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCR) in 2022. CSG's report shows Ohio had the third-worst solve rate for violent crime in the country in 2022, with Florida topping the list followed by New Mexico.
According to the report, during that year, there were nearly 294 violent crime incidents reported per 100,000 residents in Ohio. That crime rate is 23% lower than the U.S. average. but all the same, 71% of violent crimes reported to police in the state were not solved in 2022.
That solve rate has remained largely the same since 2012, according to the Justice Center.
Closer to home, 5,870 violent incidents were reported to Cleveland police in 2022, and 87% went unsolved, according to the report. It shows Akron had the same solve rate out of 1,548 reports. The police department told 3News that, at first glance, the numbers don't appear correct, but they will check their own records.
3News reached out to seven different police departments in Northeast Ohio with higher unsolved rates. Some police chiefs responded that the numbers didn't seem to add up, and they took issue with the report's definition of an unsolved crime.
Statistics showed Garfield Heights didn't solve 72% of 140 incidents. Chief Mark Kaye and detectives at the department searched through their own records from 2022 using CSG's criteria. The outcome was in stark contrast to the numbers in the CSG report. According to Kaye, reported incidents from 2022 included 6 homicides, 8 rapes, 57 felonious assaults, 12 aggravated robberies, and 22 robberies. Out of the 105 cases, 83 were solved resulting in a 79% solve rate, or a 21% unsolved rate. In an email to 3News Chief Kaye said it "highlights some of the flaws in just using crime reporting to the UCR for such statistics." They have now implemented an updated system to track information.
Bedford Heights said the number incidents in the report (39) didn't appear to be accurate, but Chief Michael Marotta said their 95% unsolved rate in the report (the worst in the state among areas with at least 30 incidents) was concerning, and the department is now reviewing its own records.
Some agencies serving smaller towns with fewer incidents solved all crimes, while others didn't solve any, according to the report.
Here's how CSG describes its methodology:
"Unsolved rates are the number of reported crimes not cleared by arrest or by exceptional means divided by the number of reported crimes. A reported crime incident is cleared by exceptional means if a law enforcement agency is unable to arrest or formally charge a person with a crime, but the agency has met the following conditions:
- Identified the person who committed the crime
- Gathered enough evidence to support an arrest, make a charge, and turn over the person to the court for prosecution
- Identified the suspect’s exact location so that the person could be taken into custody immediately
- Encountered a circumstance outside the control of law enforcement that prohibits the agency from arresting, charging, and prosecuting the person"
We will update this story as we hear back from more law enforcement agencies.