Officials tout Cleveland crime-fighting success, but acknowledge violent crime remains
A partnership between the state and Cleveland officials has resulted in more than 1,400 felony arrests and the seizure of more than 1,000 illegally possessed firearms.
State officials cited new Ohio Department of Public Safety data covering 1974 to 2023 that they said revealed that only a few people are to blame for most weapons violations and violent crimes. According to the department’s Office of Criminal Justice Services, less than 1% of the Buckeye State’s adult population is arrested annually for a weapons charge or a violent crime.
Most people apprehended are repeat offenders, and around two-thirds of adults arrested for violent crimes between 1974 and 2023 had previously been arrested twice, and about one-third were arrested five times or more. Roughly half of the adults arrested on weapons violations had already been arrested at least five times.
“These are data-driven, focused operations where we know the most violent offenders are committing the most crime in Cleveland,” Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a release. “State, local, and federal officials are regularly surging into the areas where people are illegally carrying guns, firing them in the streets, and killing people.”
Violent Crime Remains
While officials touted the program’s success, they acknowledged that more work remains to be done.
“Do we still have violent crime? Yes, we do,” DeWine said, Ideastream Public Media reported. “But this action is bringing about some very, very good results and getting some bad people off the streets.”
The Cleveland partnership, known as Cleveland’s Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone initiative, or RISE, launched in July 2023. State officials said they have also participated in similar initiatives in Akron, Canton, Columbus, Dayton, Lima, Mansfield, Springfield, Toledo, Youngstown, and Zanesville.
“This partnership is a key example of what collaboration is all about,” Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said in a release. “I’ve often said public safety is a group project. The men and women of our police department can’t do it alone. Federal law enforcement has played a critical role, state law enforcement has played a great role, as well as the county and the prosecutor.”
Send in the National Guard?
However, not everyone was as stoked about the results. Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, who has called on DeWine to send the National Guard to Cleveland, seized the opportunity to suggest that Bibb ask the state for help.
“Hopefully Mayor Bibb finally comes to his senses and asks for the Ohio National Guard to come to Cleveland,” Miller posted to X.
Hopefully Mayor Bibb finally comes to his senses and asks for the Ohio National Guard to come to Cleveland. https://t.co/72j80FwshO
— Max Miller (@MaxMillerOH) November 3, 2025
For his part, Bibb said calling in the National Guard is not in the mix.
“I want more investments in the FBI. I [want] more investments in the U.S. Marshals. I want more investment in the ATF and the DEA to get violent offenders off our streets, to get illegal guns off our streets,” Bibb said, Ideastream Public Media reported. “The National Guard, in my opinion, is not the solution.”
