By Justin Bibb
Last year, our city experienced historic records of violence, and we’re on track to beat that in 2021. Sadly, Cleveland is likely to pass 100 homicides this week. Every Clevelander is united in the belief that public safety stands on its own as our number one priority.
Born and raised on Cleveland’s southeast side, I know how violence and crime impacts our neighborhoods. Like many Clevelanders, this issue is personal to me. I have felt the same pain that 100 families are experiencing this year because my cousin Chris was murdered. Chris was like a brother to me, we grew up in the same house on Dove. I know that grief and it drives me to focus on the fight for a safer Cleveland.
As Mayor, I’ll lead with urgency and fresh ideas to combat crime and gun violence and address the social causes of crime by improving incomes and education and making policing better. Here’s how:
1) Ensure more well-trained police are on the street. Cleveland has more uniformed police per resident than Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Akron, Indianapolis, Detroit, or Buffalo, but most are in desk jobs, less than half on patrol, and we solve fewer murder cases than 97% of cities. We need more police on the street, more mental health and social workers as co-first responders, and more neighborhood crime prevention teams.
2) Create a truly independent oversight board. I’m the only major candidate to support the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland ballot initiative because comprehensive, citizen-led oversight will lead to police reform, improve law enforcement, save taxpayers’ money, rebuild trust, and most importantly save lives. A Policy Matters Ohio report published last week said that Cleveland police misconduct cases totaled $46.9 million since 2010.
3) Fight for better gun laws and stronger enforcement, background checks, incentives to turn guns in, and tough penalties for gun crimes and illegal sales. We must take the fight to the state and federal level and strategically join lawsuits against the gun merchants and their lobbyists.
4) Develop educational and job-training partnerships and programs with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University, and others. Better skills and job opportunities reduce crime, plain and simple.
5) Fund successful re-entry programs like Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry’s “Project Care” that once offered citizens returning from prison the opportunity to transition back into society. Known as the “Red Coats”, it rehabilitated ex-offenders provided protection and other services to seniors at CMHA facilities and helped stop crime in its tracks.
Better law enforcement and police accountability are two sides of the same coin. Cleveland needs both to be safer. As Mayor, I’ll fight to reduce violent crime and ensure justice and accountability in our neighborhoods. We can and must do both.
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Justin Bibb is a candidate for mayor of Cleveland. The nonpartisan primary is set for September 14, 2021. Early voting begins August 17.
