TOLEDO, Ohio — During Wednesday's State of the City address at the Jefferson Center building, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz spoke about a variety of hot-button topics that face the city on a daily basis.
One of the biggest areas he addressed was crime, which the city can say has seen a drop in a majority of categories.
"It can be true that crime and violent crime has drastically gone down in the last year, year and a half, and it can also be true that it is higher than what any of us want it to be," Kapszukiewicz said. "Both are true."
In five of the six major crime categories, numbers went down in 2023 from 2022, with the only increase being auto thefts going up 18.4% from the previous year.
"Our crime statistics are down from last year to the year before, and that's, in due large part, to the hardworking men and women in this department," Toledo Police Department spokesperson Lt. Paul Davis said. "It's also attributed to the citizens, too, because we can't do this job on our own. We want to partner with our community, different community members and organizations to help combat crime."
But for city officials, the goal in mind is not just improving what the numbers show, but also creating a vision of hope for the citizens and the city's future.
"Do you only see the Toledo that was?" Kapszukiewicz said during the address. "Do you see the Toledo that it is? Or can you be a part of the group that dreams about the Toledo that is still yet to be? It's up to us to decide how we perceive, how we do. The fact of the matter is: Toledo is a much safer place today than it was last year."
Those inside law enforcement also agree that although there is work to be done, the city is showing signs of a better future, one that shows signs of the times before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think Toledo still is a great place to live and work," Davis said. "We have a great department here, we have a great fire department, we have great community leaders and organizations here who make people's lives good and enjoyable, and I don't think that's changed. There obviously was a rise in crime for that period of time and we are working hard to bring that back down."