CLEVELAND — Cleveland police released 2020 crime statistics and numbers show an increase in some violent crimes including murders and robberies.
Murders in Cleveland are up 42% and some of that increase in crime in being attributed to gangs.
“We saw gang violence increasing significantly over the last year,” said Todd Krajeck, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cleveland FBI. “We realized it was a problem and needed specific attention on a federal level,” he added.
That’s one reason the FBI is leading The Safe Streets Gang Task Force. Law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Adult Parole Authority and Cleveland Police have joined forces and resources to focus on gangs.
“There are a lot of violent gangs in the city,” said Krajeck. The task force will focus on those gangs.
Gang violence is not just a problem in Cleveland. It’s happening in other cities across the country and Northeast Ohio.
In the short time the task force has been in operation, there have been arrests and weapons seized. But, authorities know in order to successfully put the gangs out of business, law enforcement needs the help of the public.
Call 1-877-FBI-OHIO or the Cleveland Police Department with information about gangs.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
