CLEVELAND — Nearly a month after the city of Cleveland announced its summer safety plan, we are getting a look at the numbers for police enforcement.
According to the department's online database, crime overall is down, but some still say the city has a long way to go to cut down on violence.
Mayor Justin Bibb introduced his safety plan as an all-government approach to tackle crime in the city. One month in, police say traffic enforcement is up. They have designated officers who respond to high-priority calls in the city, and in between those calls they are focused on traffic enforcement in designated hot spots.
Officials released the following results of their work in those hot spots for the month of May:
- Uniform Traffic Tickets (UTT): 327
- Parking Infraction Notices (PIN): 427
- Minor Misdemeanor Citations (MM): 44
- Guns confiscated: 91
- Fentanyl (grams): 49
- Cocaine (grams): 2,662
- MDMA pills: 600,000
- Meth (grams): 5,501
- Felony arrests: 125
- Misdemeanor arrests: 36
- Warrant arrests: 63
- United States currency seized: $10,000
- Search warrants: 22
- Summons: 33
But Sergeant Freddy Diaz couldn’t say whether that equates to increased numbers in those categories overall compared to previous years. He said it was too early to tell what impact those efforts are having on the streets.
3News looked at the department's online database, which shows crime overall was down in the month of May this year compared to 2023. Year to date, there have been 46 homicides in Cleveland, which is down from 78 during the same period last year. Thefts, burglaries, and assaults are also on the decline.
Cleveland City Council Safety Committee Chair Michael D. Polensek told 3News he appreciates where police have made progress, but added, "If you were to talk to our residents citywide, our businesses, they don't believe crime is down."
"We should be able to control the narrative in the street, and we're not doing that," he said. "And that's of great concern to those of us in City Council."
Polensek pointed to the recent incident in Playhouse Square where someone raced around an intersection while another lit the street on fire. He also referenced an incident over the weekend when a loud crowd surrounded an RTA bus at East 37th Street and Broadway, blocking it from moving.
Police also say they have been working with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The safety plan includes five violent crime reduction details a month, two of those with OSHP.
"Whatever they've been able to improve their numbers on, I'm supportive and I'm happy," Polensek told WKYC. "But we've got a long way to go here. We've got a long way to go."