SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — The cities of Cleveland and Shaker Heights will enhance policing at their borders under a new safety agreement.
The letter, signed last week, came as a surprise to some Cleveland council members who say they’ve wanted this for years.
Shaker Heights is bordered by Cleveland on two sides.
But the two communities intertwine.
“Crime is not really like it used to be, it's getting better,” Shaker Heights resident Gerald Faraley said.
All of Shaker Square sits in Cleveland. However, the homes surrounding it are within the Shaker Heights School District.
The Larchmere neighborhood is 80% in Cleveland, and the other 20% is in Shaker Heights.
“We both currently patrol and enforce our own parts of the area but we realize we could be a lot more effective by working together rather than working separately,” Shaker Heights Mayor David Weiss said.
Case in point: last July on Larchmere.
Shaker Heights dash camera video shows its officers crossing into Cleveland to help.
News 5 Investigators showed you how a teen party grew out of control after what started at an Airbnb spilled into the street. A restaurant was overrun.
“There was a bunch of condoms, wine bottles the whole table was like flipped over on the side paintings were down,” Aayush Jain said.
Teen party spills into street in Cleveland's Larchmere neighborhood:
Cleveland Council President Blaine Griffin shared his cell phone video from that night.
Griffin found out when he said residents called him to complain when Cleveland police weren’t responding.
He called both Cleveland and Shaker Heights police.
“It’s one of the things that led to continued calls for it but these conversations have been going on for years,” Griffin said.
However, Griffin says he heard about this new policing collaboration through email.
“We didn’t know about it,” Griffin said.
Still, Griffin says he’s happy this is happening and wants to ensure there’s equitable policing.
“I just want to make sure that we have just good, justifiable policing, that everybody’s playing by the same set of rules, and that we don’t set our citizens up to be profiled in any kind of way,” Griffin said.
Under the agreement, the two police departments will continue mutual aid. They’ll also share crime reports, video surveillance and crime data.
“Patrolling the borders, sharing data and information working together on investigations,” Weiss said.“I think it’ll be a good idea because Shaker and Cleveland are really close to each other and the security in Cleveland is okay but Shaker security is better I think and a collaboration will be good,” Faraley said.
Griffin says he will measure the results.
"I want to see this happening in Lakewood. I want to see this happening in Warrensville in Maple Heights. I want to see this happening on the Euclid border on the Parma border with Cleveland,” Griffin said.
“Doing these kinds of sharing of resources could easily be a model,” Weiss said.
A Cleveland city spokesman sent us this statement:
The City of Cleveland is partnering with the City of Shaker Heights in a proactive endeavor to enhance safety efforts in our region. We are optimistic about the future for both of our cities, and remain open to working with any organization or entity genuinely committed to reducing crime in our area. Residents and stakeholders can also join efforts to reduce crime and increase apprehension by participating from Safe Smart CLE, a camera sharing program helping people keep their communities safe.
Last spring, Cleveland City Council introduced legislation to regulate short-term rentals.
Griffin says it’s still in the works and plans on getting it passed before the end of the year.
