By Olivia Mitchell
cleveland.com
CLEVELAND — Cleveland is set to end 2024 with the fewest number of homicides in five years.
Through Dec. 23, the city had 104 violent deaths, city records show. That’s a major drop from the 192 total in 2020.
The numbers follow a national trend on crime, as authorities are seeing fewer murders in most major cities. In Cleveland, officials have cited the greater use of technology, an increased focus on neighborhoods and an emphasis on fighting gun crimes.
The city has seen its homicides slowly drop since the pandemic. Last year, 165 people were killed in the city after a bloody summer, three fewer than the year before. This year, however, the numbers have declined significantly.
Mayor Justin Bibb has pushed an initiative he calls Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone (RISE). He began it July 23, 2023, when the city suffered through a summer of slayings.
Bibb and city leaders called for help from state troopers, U.S. marshals, Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputies and federal agents to partner with city patrol officers and detectives. The additional officers helped a department depleted by retirements and resignations deal with crime.
In recent years, the city employed 1,600 officers. In December, it had 1,142.
Police records show homicides are down 39% from last year, while stolen cars declined 21%. Robberies fell by 12% and felonious assaults by 8%.
“While our RISE results are encouraging, now is not the time to let up,” Bibb said in a statement. “My administration will continue to do everything we can, but we need everyone to step up.”
This summer, police and state and federal agents made more than 700 arrests and nearly 400 seizures of guns. They also issued over 4,300 traffic tickets.
Joseph Jones , the vice chairman of Cleveland City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said the drop in crime establishes that the city as a safe place to work, live and play.
“I just want to congratulate the men and women who work hard every day to make this possible,” Jones said. “I believe that this administration is moving in the right direction as relates to dealing with crime and issues in our city.”
Michael Polensek, the chairman of Council’s Public Safety Committee, said the numbers are encouraging, but he said much more needs to be done.
“Am I glad homicides are down? Yes, absolutely,” Polensek said. “But the average citizen doesn’t believe crime is down here, and that’s a problem.”
Despite the downward trend in homicides, the city experienced high-profile slayings in 2024.
A Cleveland police officer, Jamieson Ritter, was killed trying to serve a warrant on a man with mental health issues on July 4. Gracie Griffin, a 10-year-old girl, was fatally shot at a party the same day. And Amir Prewitt, a 7-year-old on a skateboard, was killed Aug. 16 in a parking lot by a hit-and-run driver, police said.
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