TOLEDO, Ohio — There have been 14 homicides in Toledo as of May 23, 2023. On May 23, 2022, there had been 23 homicides in Toledo. While the number has almost halved, there is still more work to do, and Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced a new office Tuesday focused on crime reduction.
The Mayor's Office on Neighborhood Safety and Engagement will focus on working with community organizations on community-related violence issues and will be led by Malcolm Cunningham, a new face in city government.
For years now, calls have gone out among city leaders for a community-based approach to solving the root causes of violence.
On Tuesday, the mayor and other leaders announced they believe they found a solution in Cunningham.
"We have to be organized with our resources internally so we can work better with our community partners," Toledo City Council member Tiffany Preston Whitman said. "I think the creation of this office and the hiring of Malcolm Cunningham is the first step in doing this work."
The office's creation and purpose alleviates the city's Safety Director, Brian Byrd, of a responsibility that was previously his, allowing Byrd to return to his day-to-day duties while Cunningham can double down on solving big-picture problems.
Cunningham previously worked at ProMedica, focusing on community-based mental health issues. He said that background has helped him recognize several systematic issues in Toledo that create the environment for gun violence to thrive.
"There are very clear disparities in the rate of young men that are shot when it comes to Black and every other race. It's related to income, it's related to economic segregation and it's related to education," Cunningham said.
Cunningham's day-to-day responsibilities will involve building long-term solutions, potentially adjusting current policies, steering resources and meeting with community members and action committees.
He won't be tackling these large-scale issues alone, as the Save Our Community program will be under his guidance and the city's violence interrupters will report to him.
The violence interrupters previously reported to David Bush, who has been re-positioned to lead youth programming.
This reshaping of city government has also earned praise from TPD Chief Michael Troendle, who sees it as an opportunity to work even closer with the public than his badge would allow.
"This helps us bridge the gap between the community and helps us work better with the community, so I'm happy to see this happen and I'm looking forward to working with Malcolm," Troendle said.
Cunningham said many of the issues he's tackling won't be fixed today or next year. They are issues that will take decades to truly fix. But he said he intends to stay in the role until his position is no longer needed.