Tackling Cleveland Crime
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson reinstated the police anti-gang unit Wednesday. The unit will aggressively pursue crimes involving drugs, gangs and guns.
The mayor's move comes after 2007 saw a 13% spike in the city's murder rate. Cleveland's gang unit was among the cutbacks made in 2004 during police layoffs.
The mayor says he also still hopes to reassign some officers from Hopkins Airport back to the streets, if a court sides with the city and approves the plan.
Is it enough? We want to hear from you on whether you think the Mayor's plans will help the city.
Some comments may be used on-air on Channel 3 News, so leave your name and city if you want credit.
The mayor's move comes after 2007 saw a 13% spike in the city's murder rate. Cleveland's gang unit was among the cutbacks made in 2004 during police layoffs.
The mayor says he also still hopes to reassign some officers from Hopkins Airport back to the streets, if a court sides with the city and approves the plan.
Is it enough? We want to hear from you on whether you think the Mayor's plans will help the city.
Some comments may be used on-air on Channel 3 News, so leave your name and city if you want credit.
posted by lbarr at
1:47 PM
28 Comments:
Anything is better than nothing, which is what we had during the Jane Campbell Administration. I hope Mayor Jackson can do something about all of this crime. This task force is a start, let's not stop there, lets keep going unitl we have the strength to stand against all of this violence Take back Cleveland and live in peace.
Beverly
Why has it taken him so long to do this?
I say let them keep on killing each other that's one less my taxes have to pay to put them through court and jail then released again, just to start the crime sprees again. Not only that but, the parents should go to jail just as well for raising such horrible children. I am sick of doing something and not seeing results...and lets not get started on our corrupt police department, when was the last time you have seen a hero on our department? The police are only there to collect a pay check not to serve and protect, they are cowards hiding behind a badge, why do you think they are fighting the mayor not to work on the streets, when they can collect a gravy train check by working at the airport? The police are overweight and look like slobs, they have no respect for it's citizens and complain to their union when the job is too tough. I wished that those of you that read this and feel that your job isn't what you thought it was or you are a burned out police officer, would quit or retire so we can get a police for to be proud of.
It's about time. I have live in the city proper for 54 years, all my life. The neighbors are scared to say anything to these THUGS for fear of retribution. We really need police PROTECTION. Take back our city and send the gangs overseas to fight if they want to fight.
WOW! a seven member Gang Unit.
You need more then that.
I thought the gun buy back was supposed to help.
I guess the criminals didnt want to give up their life of crime for a bag of groceries.
I would suggest a 20 member gang unit.
Get-em Frankie! Send them to a boot camp and then off to Iraq to learn the meaning of freedom and how we acquired the freedoms that we have in this country. If they want to be agressive gun carriers then let them do it where we need it.
Frank wants to prosecute people with illegal guns? Since when? Do a public records request for a list of
people prosecuted for unregistered handgun or
assault weapons possession. How many
were prosecuted in 2004-2007? Zero!
Why did it take him two years to come up with a plan to a problem we had from the first day he was in office?
paula
The Gang Unit worked before it will work again. I do hope to see more police officer's assigned to this unit sooner than next year. Also the comments about the police hiding behind there badge, that is a bunch of garbage. In any type of agency or business you have slackers it is not just a police department issue. It sounds like anonymous has a few run ins with the law!!!!
As all the parents in the news say "he's a perfect angel, that can't be my kid your talking about".
The guns are illegal to begin with. Just enforce the laws against the underage gun carriers.
And leave the law abiding citizens with guns alone.
In the 1970's Cleveland had roughly 900,000 people living in the city limits. Since then the population has gone down to 433,000 or 50% less with the same amount of police and they can't control crime? Maybe the problem is the police and not the people!
I'd like to see the media put up Crimestoppers photo's of the perpetrators rather than sensationalize the wounded and dead victims. A case in point was the media's total ignorance of the facts in reporting the accidental shooting of Daymon Mumford from a block away. Any witnesses to the actual gunfight have no clue that an innocent bystander was killed a block away as he watched. Much of the public who paid attention to the story felt there were two seperate shootings even though the police have the video and audio evidence that there was only one. They should be looking for witnesses of the gunfight rather than a guy hitting the ground 350 feet away. Also, there are several witness reports on line of a white car fleeing the scene with the shooter as a passenger yet there's not been anything said other than the usual "Police have no suspects"
Quit sensationalizing the crimes, Clevelands media is as bad as the tabloids. All it's done is increase fear of the criminals and little interest of stepping forward from fear of retaliation.
Ms. Lynne
Absolutely not! It didn't help before when the unit was active. It doesn't matter how much the mayor and the police department does when the courts turn around and let the "kids" go right back to their neighborhoods and pick up where they left off before their arrests. Besides, when the hell are the parents of these sweet little children going to take responsibility for their role in their kids actions. Just another reason why I'm moving my family out of Cleveland and across country!!!
How are seven officers going to curtail the gang warfare in teh city. Getting rid of the guns isn't going to do it, and certainly a few police officers won't even make a dent in the mind set of the youth and gangs of this city. I say bring in the National Guard and let them take care of the war being fought in our city instead of in Iraq. We need trained soldiers to bring sanity and security to our city. What about the airport? Don't we have enough problems and harrassement. Bringing them to police detail is another Mayor Jackson laughable idea!
Anonymous is wise to remain as
'anonymous' so no Clevelander would recognize her. My guess is that she doesn't even pay income taxes in our fair City. Obviously misinformed and probably doesn't even vote.
We have a lot of heroes on our police department. I am married to one of them.
I agree with msconnielynne. The media will shove the microphone into the face of family of the criminal - who, by the way, was just on the verge of getting a job, going back to school, finding Jesus, and turning his life around.
Makes for more sensational news reporting. Let's stop feeling sorry for these people! There are real victims out there.
Yes! Its to the point of no return now and has been for years.It is to the point where you need the National Guard now to sweep the city and rid all the criminals and kids whose parents don't keep track of them. Sweep Jackson and all of city hall clean too as Jackson and the rest are useless do nothings!!! Make tougher penalties for violent crimes and carrying guns without permits even for juvenilles!!
My understand of the anti- gang task force formed 4 years ago was that it only targetted Detroit ave from W25th to W65th and south to either Clark or Dennison. There was also an anti -cruising law that was in place as part of it. However, what I've seen is small groups of youths, attack or rob then run off on foot moments later before I was even connected to a 911 operator. These kids know that, hit and run. What I find ironic is that a recent case of a witness being intimidated by one of these kids father resulted in no prosecution of the father and if I recall, the witness refused to testify. This was in another hotbed of gang activity, Fleet and Broadway. Increased penalties for gang activities, prosecute the minors as adults, will get the point across to some.
Granted, it's not a cure all, when the economy and poverty reach the status of what's developed in Northern Ohio, increased crime is expected. Oh, also consider a "gang" as a group of 3 or more persons involved in one or more crimes.
Ms. Lynne
This is a good start but only a start. As an inner city resident that sees the gang and drug activity, I know that the activity just moves to a different area when police focus on a certain area. Then when the police move on, the activity returns. We need a gang unit of at least 100 officers that can focus on areas citywide to really stop this, rather than allow the gangs to just move.
This is nothing more than the usual dog and pony show that has been going on in this city for years. This is a sham. With over one hundred identified gangs in this city (from a 2005 study), seven officers are not going to put a dent in the gang problem. Most likely, they are going to sit in an office in the police headquarters, study crime trends and pat each other on the back about what a great job they are doing, all while trying to keep their coffee warm. You want to create a squad to effectively deal with the gang problem, you need at least 30 to 40 officers, out working the street, actually addressing and handling the street gangs. Most individual gangs in this city have a lot more than seven members. What we need to do is stop with all the bs, feel good, social service programs, start making people take responsibilty for themselves, and start taking this city back. As for anonymous stating earlier that the police are only here collecting a paycheck, your right. Some of them are so tired of getting dragged through the mud, just for doing their job. They have to follow the rules, and unfortunately, when an investigation takes place, they are GUILTY until proven innocent with this administration. Let's face it, the thugs and criminals on the streets are afforded more rights and respect than the police.
Good police work with the neighborhood citizens involvement will definitely do a lot to help curb the growing problems with the gangs. Get block watch or a similar program going again.
If we want to impact crime how about getting all the cops out on the street versus the Justice Center and the headquarters doing administrative duties. The City has almost 40% of the sworn cop's doing primary duties as payroll clerks, file room clerks, property room clerks, personnel clerks and so on and so on. This is crazy if you want to be a cop be cop not a pencil pusher. It would be cheaper for the city to hire administrative people to those duties but those old timers couldn’t handle the stress of the streets, have you seen the weight of some those desk jockey cops?
Maybe if the Police Union would stop fighting the Mayor on each and every little thing then we might get the chance to see some kind of progress. Please, CLE Airport is very low on the target list of terrorist if on the list at all. Get those much needed Cops back on the streets of Cleveland.
To Hagan and Dimorra... Yeh...with 134 homocides in the city last year and gangs running all over, do you really think that you can get convention traffic in this city?
Coffee, donuts and balloons won't bring them in to a convention or a med exposition center. You guys have to realize that ALL things about a city are weighed before being considered.
The gang unit is a late start but a welcome one. Glad to see that the mayor woke up from his long sleep!
It doesnt matter who you arrest if they fail to appear in court.Over 130,000 people failed to appear. Mayor Jackson is came from Clerk of court and so did President of council Sweeney.They are presentley allowing gang members to post other gang members bonds without a bailbonds man. So there is no reason to worry about returning to court so they re-victimize the public over and over.The Clerk of courts lives to enjoy forfieted bonds.Instead of defendants returning to pay finds to the City of Cleveland to use to hire police.If Cleveland used bailbonds man 90,000 defendants would have came to court and paid their fines. Clevelanders would win instead of the Clerk of courts.The defedants would sooner get their affairs in order and be in a position to work and pay income taxes and property taxes instead of hiding. The most sickening part about it is the FBI is down the street on Lakeside and they cant figure this out.Forfieted bond money is fools gold. This is why Chicago, Detroit,and Philly have the same problems with crime.The use the wrong recipe for bail that shortens the leash on missing court allowing victimizer to roam free for years until the commit a crime and are luckily caught.
This is a start. Cleveland needs to address the violence and the problems that the city faced last year with the substantial rise in homicides. I wont give a pat on the mayors back unless this works and the citizens start to see safer streets. Results equal happy citizens. Dont let cleveland become a Detroit or Youngstown
I believe it could be a good idea, IF they follow through and do what they are asigned to. The courts need to get hard ao these defendants also both adult and juvenile. Make it known that crime does not pay.
I was once a police officer in East Cleveland. The groups of wrong doers back then didn't call themselves'gangs. Same problems exist today throughpout Cleveland, however, they now all want to be recognized as somebodys and are organizing much like the FOLK and PEOPLE Nation gangs. Better get a handle on them early least my old hometown becomes another Chicago gangland.
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