Cleveland says homicides, robberies, and car thefts fell under 2026 summer safety plan

Mayor Justin Bibb and city officials announced 2026 Summer Safety Plan results on Monday.

Compared with 2024’s Operation Heat Wave, the city said homicides declined 22.8%.

Compared with Operation Heat Wave, grand theft motor vehicle offenses declined 34.9%.

Compared with Operation Heat Wave, robberies declined 33.9%.

Compared with Operation Heat Wave, felonious assaults decreased 2.9%.

Homicides from January through August fell from 117 in 2023 to 66 this year, about 44%.

Car thefts from January through August fell from more than 4,282 in 2023 to 2,067 this year, about 52%.

Robberies from January through August fell from 1,229 in 2023 to 740 this year, about 40%.

Felonious assaults from January through August fell from 2,031 in 2023 to 1,761 this year, about 13%.

Operation SPF 216 recovered 466 firearms.

Officers and partners recovered 90 stolen vehicles.

Officers issued 4,850 traffic violations.

Partners seized more than $1.3 million in U.S. currency.

Cleveland hired 21 police officers in 2023.

Cleveland hired more than 300 new police officers over three years.

The Bibb administration launched the RISE public-safety initiative in 2023.

The Summer Safety Plan is led by the Department of Public Safety.

Bibb said the administration invested in prevention, youth jobs, neighborhoods, and targeted police resources.

The Office of Prevention, Intervention, and Opportunity expanded youth employment, mentorship, and violence-intervention access over the summer.

1,526 youth secured employment through city programs.

Those youth jobs paid more than $2.7 million in wages.

Youth employees worked 200,983 hours.

Youth worked at 347 worksites.

Youth worked for 165 employers.

Nearly 2,400 participants engaged through Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

The city invested $1 million through Cleveland Thrive for violence intervention.

Cleveland Thrive reached 14,286 unique participants, up 24% from 2025.

Programs delivered 19,750 youth experiences, up 21% from last year.

The city said it provided 260,885 opportunities.

The city said it engaged 16,137 families.

Community Relations engaged 1,200 residents at Mayor’s Night Out events.

The department engaged 831 people at community meetings.

More than 860 residents attended safety fairs.

The Department of Aging held 16 Senior Walks.

Senior Walks reached more than 4,299 participants.

Aging staff made more than 9,360 wellness calls.

The city supported 929 households with free grass-cutting.

Parks and Recreation served more than 30,000 meals.

City pools logged more than 58,662 visits.

Summer camps reached about 1,538 campers.

Overnight camps reached 421 campers.

Public Works installed more than 144 new speed tables.

Public Works added 403 miles of pavement markings.

Public Works addressed 3,988 illegal dumping sites.

Public Works cleaned 21,566 parcels.

On Lorain Avenue, speeding above 30 mph fell from 71% to 35%.

Building and Housing completed 648 inspections.

Building and Housing responded to 353 neighborhood service requests.

Building and Housing issued 78 violation notices.

Cleveland 311 logged 29,718 service requests.

Neighborhood walks identified 911 additional requests.

The city opened 137 service requests from those walks.

The city closed more than 70% of those walk-generated requests by Sept. 1.

Chief Dorothy Todd said residents have started giving police more advance information.