TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo is in the national spotlight as Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz joined three other city mayors, as well as host Chris Cuomo, in a televised town hall on NewsNation Monday night discussing crime in the U.S.
Kapszukiewicz said in the first six months of 2023, there is less violent crime in Toledo than there was in 2022.
"What we have seen in 2023 has actually been remarkable," he said.
He touted the strides the city has taken to see crime numbers go down.
"In Toledo, Ohio, for 2023, for the first six months of the year, crime is down in every category except for auto theft," he said.
Tina Scott, president of the West Toledo Neighborhood Association, is skeptical and doesn't believe the city's numbers alleviate concerns about crime.
"It hasn't really dropped," she said. "Shots are still fired throughout the city. Robberies in the area still. People are still breaking the law and are not being held accountable."
A community safety report from the mayor's office says there have been fewer homicides in 2023 than there were at the same time last year. But, the number of shootings as of May was higher than in 2022.
Kapszukiewicz said his team created a plan at the end of 2022 to decrease violent crime numbers, and so far, they've executed it.
"Our plan was pretty clear," he said. "It was to grow the size of the police department and we have. It involved record investment in youth programs and we've done that. Fighting blight, we've done that."
Kapszukiewicz says the numbers don't lie when it comes to the work the city has done. But for others, the sound of gunshots on their block doesn't lie.
Scott said more work needs to be done because the decreasing numbers don't mean there's no crime at all.
"Of course, we're not satisfied until there are no homicides. Until everyone feels safe," Kapszukiewicz said. "At the same level, this is a passionate issue, this isn't one of those things where you can agree to disagree."
Kapszukiewicz also talked about mental health and guns during the town hall. He said gun violence is "uniquely American" and he does not agree that mental health should be an excuse.
He said struggles with mental health are seen around the world, but other countries are not seeing the same gun violence numbers as the U.S.
The three other mayors at the meeting were Frank Scott, Jr., of Little Rock, Arkansas; Elaine O'Neal of Durham, North Carolina; and Luke Bronin of Hartford, Connecticut.