Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will testify before the Committee on Surveillance and Government Reform at Capitol Hill, Washington, on March 5, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Democrat mayors of several large US cities say violent crime has declined in their surveillance and praised the mix of police and community-based strategies for that trend.
Last week, in a virtual discussion hosted by the Democratic Mayors Association and the VERA Institute of Action, mayors of Cleveland, Chicago, Baltimore, and Newark discussed investments in youth employment, mental health services, and violence disruption programs that they say make their neighborhoods safer.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said he has pursued a “every government” approach since his administration took office almost three years ago.
“Since taking office almost three years ago, I’ve seen a near 46% decline in homicides while investing in law enforcement, and I’m also investing in non-violent interventions,” Bibb said. “And today, mayors calling from Newark, Chicago and Baltimore are seeing the same results in their respective cities.”
Bibb evaluated it as raising safety investments in all initiatives, including expanding technology such as camera sharing programs and shot spotter gunshot detection, and changes to police recruitment and pay.
In February, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an independent law enforcement group representing the police departments of the largest U.S. and Canada, issued a report showing a total decline in violent crime in the United States from 2023 to 2024.
It also showed that most violent crimes, including murder, fell in Cleveland from 2023 to 2024, but the report found that nearly 100 rape cases had been reported in Ohio City.
