CLEVELAND, Ohio Citing the city’s high crime rate, President Donald Trump is getting ready to take over the police department in Washington, D.C.
As previously reported by cleveland.com, some local leaders are wondering if Trump would try anything similar with Cleveland, which has a greater crime rate than the nation’s capital, given the president’s control and his claimed goal.
However, there were other Ohio cities with higher crime rates than Washington, D.C., in 2024 besides Cleveland. Based on FBI data, Toledo and Dayton likewise have that status.
According to the FBI, homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault are all considered violent crimes. According to the bureau’s website, property crimes encompass a wider range of offenses, including theft, motor vehicle theft, burglary, and arson.
How does Cleveland’s crime rate compare to that of other Ohio cities? The following numbers are based on FBI data for each city’s expected 2024 population as well as the amount of violent and property offenses registered by the principal police agency in that city.
Violent crime per 100,000 people:
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Cleveland: 1,550
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Dayton: 1,325
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Toledo: 1,048
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Washington D.C.: 926
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Cincinnati: 840
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Akron: 814
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Columbus: 427
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Ohio average: 282.3
Property crime per 100,000 people:
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Toledo: 5,049
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Cleveland: 4,447
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Dayton: 4,321
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Cincinnati: 3,789
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Washington D.C.: 3,588
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Akron: 2,954
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Columbus: 2,605
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Ohio average: 1,472
Trump justified the 30-day federal takeover and deployment of 1,300 federal officials, including law enforcement officers and National Guard members, by pointing to the out-of-control crime in D.C. But according to research, D.C.’s violent and property crime rates are still lower than Cleveland’s, and the city had a 32% decrease in killings between 2023 and 2024.
Blaine Griffin, president of the Cleveland City Council, cautioned that the action would create a risky precedent.
Griffin expressed concerns about a drift toward authoritarian rule and stated that this may be just the beginning of many attempts by this administration to seize control of local police forces.
The director of Case Western Reserve University’s Begun Center for Violence Prevention, Daniel Flannery, questioned Trump’s actions and hinted that the involvement could not be data-driven but rather politically motivated.
