Overall crime down in Toledo, though shootings increased 14%

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Toledo Police Chief Mike Troendle shared the Crime Reduction Report for January 7th through April 30th of this year.

During a city council meeting on Tuesday, Chief Troendle told council members overall crime is down 7.6%. During that time period, murders were also down 14.3%. Robberies were down 40.2% and theft from motor vehicles were down 34.7%.

However, shooting incidents have gone up by 14.3%. Chief Troendle told city council the uptick may be due to the addition of a Shotspotter technology in East Toledo, adding to the number of shots fired calls. Auto thefts were also up 2.5%, with Chief Troendle noting a surge in Hyundai and Kia thefts.

While overall crime is down, there’s still a lot of work left to be done for the Toledo Police Department.

One issue the department is facing is trust. Councilman Cerssandra McPherson, sharing her disappointment in the lack of disciplinary action for two Toledo Police officers seen manhandling two women during a traffic stop in January.

“I was infuriated because that video showed that those two officers were wrong,” said McPherson, “we’re going to have to do better Chief and I’m holding you accountable and the mayor accountable for how this came out.”

Toledo residents shared similar sentiments with the chief.

“If I had done that I would have been arrested for assault. There’s no reason those policemen should’ve done that,” said one resident.

Another issue is diversity within the department. Out of 640 officers, there are no black male or female lieutenants, and no Hispanic female lieutenants. Troendle told council he is trying to address the lack of diversity through conversations with an appointed Diversity Officer.

“We have a very underrepresented minorities taking our promotional test and we’re trying to figure out why they aren’t taking it because we can’t take it if they don’t take the promotional test,” said Troendle.

There’s also the issue of the uptick in youth involved in violent crime. Out of the 14 homicides in Toledo this year, seven of the victims have been under the age of 18.

“When I talk to their parents it’s really that arms race that hits home most for me because they’re like ‘if I don’t, everyone else does,” said Councilman Theresa Gadus.

Another Crime Reduction Report will be presented in the fall.

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