Bibb, DeWine: Violent Crime Reduction Partnership Yields 138 Felony Arrests

The “surges” were conducted in Cleveland’s Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Precincts. Credit: Maria Elena Scott

Governor Mike DeWine and Mayor Justin Bibb touted the success of a “surge” law enforcement partnership to reduce violent crime during the close of the summer the at a news conference Tuesday in the Cleveland Division of Police Third District.

“I believe there are three key ingredients for successful law enforcement partnerships,” said Bibb. “Number one: a clear sense of urgency, number two: data-driven approaches to reduce violent crime and thirdly: trust. And I think the results speak for themselves that this collaboration has been very effective.”

The partnership has conducted three law enforcement surges, each lasting two days and targeting specific high-crime areas in Cleveland.

“Where we decided to go was informed very much by the Cleveland Police Department, the intelligence that they have and where they wanted to pinpoint, what areas,” DeWine said. “And that, again, is based on the intelligence they have, the data they have.”

The first surge on August 15 and 16 in the Fourth Precinct resulted in 52 felony arrests and 16 seized guns. The second, in Cleveland’s Third and Fifth Precincts on August 24 and 25 yielded 42 felony arrests and 28 seized guns.

Using ballistic data from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, law enforcement determined that 10 of the 44 confiscated firearms had previously left shell casings at 23 other crime scenes.

The final surge took place last week on September 6 and 7 in the city’s Second and Fourth Precincts and led to 44 felony arrests. Results from NIBIN are not yet available, but 19 guns were seized in the surge.

The partnership is one of several violence reduction initiatives in Cleveland with agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, the ATF, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department and the Cleveland Police Department assisting efforts.

“We’re coming at these criminals from all sides: local law enforcement, state law enforcement, federal law enforcement…I also want to convey to our residents that they’ve been thrilled by the extra police presence across our streets,” Bibb said.

In addition to covert programs, which law enforcement did not discuss in detail, authorities say that traffic stops, bar surveillance, parole officers and a helicopter were all used in the surges.

Bibb acknowledged that law enforcement presence alone would not eliminate violent crime in Cleveland, citing partnerships with food banks and the city requirements to staff social workers at all 22 recreation centers as additional efforts.

“If you don’t have a hot meal at home or a meal in the refrigerator, you’re more likely to commit violent crime to put food on the table,” said Bibb.

But some residents feel that the increased law enforcement presence has been misguided. After the July mass shooting in the Warehouse District, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Impact Unit were brought in to patrol Downtown.

As WEWS Channel 5 reported, between July 31, when Cleveland Police Department began the partnership with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, and September 8, there were 371 traffic stops, 59 drug seizures and 95 stops for window tint enforcement. Notably, most of the drug seizures were cannabis, the low-level possession of which is decriminalized in the city.

“They use that as the pretext like, ‘Hey, we’re pulling your own for this tinted window…Hey, I think I smelled the odor of marijuana. Hey, we’re going to do a check on you and now they’re doing the check to see if you got a warrant out for your arrest,’ things of that nature,” said Black Lives Matter Cleveland co-founder Kareem Henton

Henton’s neighborhood has seen the introduction of sheriff’s deputies and state troopers to reduce violence. He says he’s seen state troopers running stop signs on his residential street while kids walk home from school but not big changes

“They’re pulling you out of the car, they’re searching your car. And that’s really, it’s just a fishing expedition and it’s also just stop and frisk,” Henton said. “That’s all it is. Stop and frisk that starts off with them having a B.S. pretext to the stop. And that type of over-policing is not what our community needs.”

Instead of traffic stops, Henton says he wants community policing beyond coffee chats, with officers walking the streets and making connections with the people they’re meant to protect.

In response to criticism, Sheriff Harold Pretel told Channel 5 that deputies and supervisors did not make “pretextual stops” and said community feedback has been “very positive”.

“We must always work tirelessly as a city and as a community to do whatever we can to keep our city safe,” Bibb said at the conference. “That’s why our administration has been so focused on our RISE initiative, recognizing that we can’t police our way out of this problem; It’s going to take a multi-pronged approach to reduce violent crime in Cleveland.”

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