Cuyahoga Scoreboard
Government Performance & the Local Economy
Crime: Ensuring Safety & Justice
Metro Cleveland Needs a Local Crime Monitor
Cleveland Magazine/Community Leader, Feb. 2024
Comparative crime statistics for Cleveland continually rank Cleveland among the top tier of crime cities in America. Compiling and interpreting local crime data is not easy. The FBI and the State of Ohio compile local data on violent crime (homicides, rape, robberies, and aggravated assaults) and property crime (burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicles thefts). Unfortunately, it is not mandatory for police to provide the data. The lack of data from some communities makes it difficult to see overall area crime levels or to determine trends.
Despite these limitations, it is possible to develop a picture of major crime in the area’s core county. When the FBI data is combined with police data obtained by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to local police departments, a troubling picture on crime in Cuyahoga County emerges. Over the four-year period, Cuyahoga County averaged about 33,800 total crimes, including 7,700 violent crimes and 26,100 property crimes.
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Crime is a major factor in Metro Cleveland. The lack of a research organization to collect and analyze the crime data and the lack of a mechanism to publicize their findings to community leaders contributes to poor public safety policies.
Why Isn't Public Safety Metro Cleveland's Top Priority?
Another Review of Crime Data Shows Lack of Safety in Many Communities
Public safety has historically been one of the key responsibilities of city and national governments because personal safety is a precondition for most human activity.
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Despite the costs of crime and its impact on the community, no local community organization appears to compile and publicize data on crime. The FBI publishes local data on violent crime (homicides, rape, robberies, and aggravated assaults) and property crime (burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicles thefts) but it is not mandatory for police to provide the data. When the FBI data is combined with police data obtained by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, a troubling picture on crime in Metro Cleveland emerges. Over the past five years, Cuyahoga County has averaged about 34,100 total crimes, including 7,600 violent crimes and 26,500 property crimes. Cleveland alone averaged 22,200 total crimes with 6,100 violent crimes.
The revised analysis looks at the relative safety of communities in Metro Cleveland, as measured by crime incidents per 10,000 population and violent crime per 10,000 population. . What’s a high crime rate? When looking at the data, it appears that communities with total crime rates over 200 per 10,000 population and violent crime rates of over 50 per 10,000 population could be regarded as having a “crime problem.”
Cleveland's Public Safety Strategy to Reduce the Cost of Crime Should Start with Hiring More Police Officers
My recent Crain's op-ed on the cost of crime and public safety quantifies the cost of crime in Cleveland and assesses whether hiring more police would reduce the overall cost of crime. From 2018 to 2021, Cleveland averaged about 26,100 major crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny/theft and motor vehcle theft). Although total crimes decreased over the period because of the drop in property crimes, violent crime increased to over 7,000, Cleveland's crime rate per 10,000 resident was the highest in Ohio and has consistently been among the top 10 US cities.
A key public policy is whether adding more police or increasing social programs are the most cost-effective means of reducing crime. Despite its importance, nobody has previously tried to estimate the cost of 26,000 crimes in Cleveland. The article estimates that the cost to Cleveland residents is $1.6 billion or $4300 per capita), a huge burden on Cleveland residents,
The article quantifies whether hiring more police would reduce the overall cost of crime to Cleveland residents. The result was that adding 10% more police reduced the cost of crime by 480 incidents and $63 million including the cost of police. Going to full staffing would save even more. ​
Developing a Methodology for Estimating the Cost of Crime
Based on an estimate the number of crimes in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, this powerpoint develops a methodology for estimating the cost of 39,000 crimes in Cuyahoga County and for estimating the cost of reducing crime through adding more police.
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The estimates of the tangible & intangible costs of crime to victims and society Include several elements:
•Victim Costs -Medical, Property & Productivity
•Police, Court & Incarceration Costs
•Loss of Perpetrator Income Due to Life of Crime
•Quality of Life Impacts
•Opportunity Costs of Activities Curtailed by Crime
A meta-analysis compares several cost per crime approaches and applies a well-known approach to arrive at a crime cost estimate for Cuyahoga County.
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Several estimates of the sensitivity of crime to additional police were also reviewed to estimate whether hiring more police was a cost-effective means of improving public safety. The model, which is explained in detail in the powerpoint, shows that more police is a cost-effective solution fo Cleveland and high-crime suburbs, but may be a questionable strategy for low-crime areas.
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The powerpoint should be required reading for anyone wanting to quantify the cost of crime and to evealuate the cost-effectiveness of different public safety strategies.
Crime in Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County crime is a serious problem, but it’s surprisingly hard to develop a precise estimate. Reporting crimes is voluntary for city police department and many cities do not report to FBI or the Ohio criminal justice data center. Twenty-nine communities in Cuyahoga County representing about 22% of the county’s population did not file crime reports in 2020.
Based on a variety of sources, reported major crime for Cuyahoga County in 2020 totals about 40,000, which includes the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System (OIBRS) estimate of 35,200, plus 4,600 estimated from other sources. The number of violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault) was about 9,100 (OIBRS-8,500 and Other sources-600) and the number of property crimes (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft) was 30,700. Almost two-thirds of the total crime was in Cleveland, including nearly 80% of violent crimes.
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An estimate based solely on reported major crime substantially underestimates the actual amount of crime because a surprisingly large amount of crime is not reported, Pew Research Center quoted survey estimates from the national Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) that found “In 2019, only 40.9% of violent crimes and 32.5% of household property crimes were reported to authorities.”
There are several other illegal activities that are crimes but publicly available local data is virtually non-existent. The crimes includes drug/possession/sales, vanalism, fraud, impaired driving and several other activities. These activities are estimated on a national basis from the National Survey of Victimization Costs. Local illegal activities can be roughly estimated based on the US rates times the local population which provides a conservative estimate of 37,500 other illegal activities.
How "Safe" Are Different Cities in Cuyahoga County?
While local crime data is imperfect because some local police departments do not report major crime data, it's possible to supplement government data with private crime estimates. A local crime rate estimate can be developed by dividing the community crime estimates by local population (10,000 population). The 2020 crime rate for Cuyahoga County is 321 per 10,000 population, which means about 3% of residents experienced a crime in 2020.
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Communities in Cuyahoga County can be divided into 4 groups based on the crime rates:
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20% of county population lives in "very safe" communities with crime rates under 100 crimes per 10,000 population.
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38% of county population lives in relatively "safe" communities with crime rates of 100-199.
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9% of county population lives in 9 communities "vulnerable to crime" with rates of 200-299.
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39% of county population lives 5 communities with crime rates over 300 per 10,000 population.
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About 31% of Cuyahoga County lives in the City of Cleveland with a crime rate of 677.
How Does the Crime Rate in Cleveland Compare to the US & Other Ohio Cities
Some private organizations have developed independent comparisons of crime rates in different cities. Safehome.org, an organization reviewing home security products, developed a comparison based on 2020 crime data. The data confirms that the City of Cleveland has a serious crime problem compared to US and other Ohio cities.
How Large is the Justice & Public Safety Sector in Cuyahoga County
Maintaining public safety is a fundamental responsibility of government. All justice & public safety activities represented about 59% of all public administration employment & 64% of wages. Police represented about 50% of justice and safety employment and wages.
Download PDF.
City Government Expenditures on Security
City governments spend an average of 50% of general fund revenues on security, which reflects the importance of security to residents and public officials. In total, city governments spent a total of $640 million on security, in 2020, or $530 per capita, based on accounting reports sent to Ohio's auditor.
County Government Expenditures on Security
The Cuyahoga County government spends at least $19 million (30%) of its $1.4 billion budget annually on safety-related programs. Most people are aware of the county sheriff and prosecutor, the county courts and jail, but the county also has crime-related spending for human & health service. About 3,400 (47%) of the county's 7,200 full-time employees are tied to safety-related activities.
Crime in Cuyahoga County By Region
Cuyahoga County crime is a serious problem, but it’s surprisingly hard to develop a precise estimate. Reporting crimes is voluntary for city police department and many cities do not report to FBI or the Ohio criminal justice data center. Twenty-nine communities in Cuyahoga County representing about 22% of the county’s population did not file crime reports in 2020.
Based on a variety of sources, reported major crime for Cuyahoga County in 2020 totals about 40,000, which includes the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System (OIBRS) estimate of 35,200, plus 4,600 estimated from other sources. The number of violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault) was about 9,100 (OIBRS-8,500 and Other sources-600) and the number of property crimes (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft) was 30,700. Almost two-thirds of the total crime was in Cleveland, including nearly 80% of violent crimes.
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An estimate based solely on reported major crime substantially underestimates the actual amount of crime because a surprisingly large amount of crime is not reported, Pew Research Center quoted survey estimates from the national Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) that found “In 2019, only 40.9% of violent crimes and 32.5% of household property crimes were reported to authorities.”
Reducing Crime:
Can Cleveland Reduce Violent Crime & Become a Safer City?
In 2017, Cuyahoga County had about 7,100 violent crimes (murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults), over 20% of Ohio's total. High levels of crime make it more difficult to increase economic opportunity and reduce poverty and they compromise the delivery of educational and community services.
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