TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Police Department led a community meeting Thursday to inform central Toledoans about crime in their neighborhood, including everything from domestic violence to assault to shootings.
At his State of the City address Wednesday, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said crime has decreased in a majority of categories.
In five of the six major crime categories, numbers went down in 2023 from 2022. Auto thefts increased by 18.4% from the previous year.
However, the perception of crime in Toledo varies depending on who you talk to.
"You see so much going on out here. Is it really that low? It could very well be,” said Toledo resident Shelia Atkins, who was at Thursday's meeting.
According to the mayor, there were 65 homicides in Toledo in 2022 and 45 in 2023.
Gina Shubeta, a lieutenant in the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department, said she's proud of that 30% decrease.
"I'm really proud of Toledo and I think we are doing some great things in Toledo," she said. "I think that Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz is doing an amazing job and the numbers speak for themselves. Unemployment is down, inflation is down and crime is down and that's a win-win for me."
How can the city and law enforcement work to decrease homicide numbers every year?
Atkins thinks community policing is the answer.
"If we can get the guns off of the streets that's one of the things," she said. "I think more education and more people being involved, parents being involved and other peers because there’s so much going on it is so scary out here."
Whether you believe the statistics are promising or not, everyone agrees that more can always be done.
Florence McLennan, a member of TPD's Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol Program, said youth homicides are particularly tragic.
"There are so many young people that are being shot and that's a life that is wiped out before it's even got a chance to begin," she said.