Democratic mayors in several large U.S. cities say violent crime has declined on their watch and credit a mix of policing and community-based strategies for the trend.
In a virtual discussion hosted by the Democratic Mayors Association and the Vera Action Institute last week, mayors from Cleveland, Chicago, Baltimore, and Newark described investments in youth employment, mental health services, and violence interruption programs that they say are making neighborhoods safer.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said his administration has pursued an “all of government” approach since taking office nearly three years ago.
“Since I took office nearly three years ago, we’ve seen a nearly 46 percent reduction in homicides, while investing in law enforcement, we’re also investing in non-violence interventions,” Bibb said. “And the mayors on the call today from Newark, Chicago, and Baltimore… are seeing the same results in their respective city.”
Bibb credited the city’s Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone Initiative, expansion of technology such as a camera-sharing program and ShotSpotter gunshot detection, and changes to police recruitment and pay.
In February, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an independent law enforcement group representing the police departments of the largest cities in the United States and Canada, issued a report that also showed an across-the-board decline in violent crime in the United States from 2023 to 2024.
It also showed that most violent crimes, including homicide, had decreased in Cleveland from 2023 to 2024. However, there were nearly 100 more reported cases of rape in the Ohio city, according to the report.
