Black Mayors from Cleveland, Chicago, Baltimore, and Newark Claim Success at Reducing Violent Crime

In a virtual convening hosted in collaboration with the Vera Action Institute, Democratic mayors from Cleveland, Chicago, Baltimore, and Newark offered a vigorous defense of their cities’ efforts to reduce violent crime—arguing that Democratic-led urban centers are leading the country in crime reduction through data-driven, community-focused, and comprehensive public safety strategies.

The roundtable was introduced by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, president of the Democratic Mayors Association, who opened the conversation by drawing a sharp contrast between local results and federal rhetoric. 

“We wanted to have this conversation [about] the work that Democratic mayors all across this country are doing to reduce violent crime despite the chaos and cruelty and confusion coming out of D.C.,” Bibb said. “Since I took office nearly three years ago, we’ve seen a nearly 46% reduction in homicides while investing in law enforcement, but also investing in nonviolence interventions… deploying an all-of-government approach to solve violent crime.”

The conversation was co-hosted by Insha Rahman, director of the Vera Action Institute, who underscored the national context of this progress. [MORE]