Both politicians wore blue suits and white dress shirts as they addressed news cameras from podiums at symbolic buildings in Northeast Ohio.
But each had different things to say about crime in Akron.
“I don’t think comments about lawlessness are grounded in the realistic picture of what’s going on down here,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik as he stood in front of the Akron Police Department’s downtown headquarters during a Wednesday morning press conference.
Malik was flanked by APD leaders and the county prosecutor to present the “good news,” along with the “areas where we are focused on improving” the city’s crime statistics for the first half of the year.
The comments came days after Vice President JD Vance held a rally at a Canton steel plant and decried what he said was the “lawlessness” permitted by local authorities in Akron, Canton and Columbus that, he said, scares people from dining downtown.
The good news from Akron: Robberies, felonious assaults, breaking-and-enterings, car thefts, overdose deaths and total calls for service were down over the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.
The areas the city is focusing on improving: Reports of shootings, rapes and burglaries are up slightly compared to the frist half of last year. The murder count, 12, is the same during the period last year and one less than in 2023.
Fewer guns seized, but does that mean there are actually fewer guns?
Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich said he’s seen the same trends — generally decreasing violent crime — in Akron and said county law enforcement agencies have referred 10% fewer felony cases to his office for prosecution compared to last year.
He said the prosecutor’s office is focused on taking the most serious violent crime cases to trial instead of offering plea deals that typically would involve lesser charges (plea deals save prosecutorial resources but typically offer less punishment than a guilty verdict at trial).
On the streets of Akron, fewer guns have been seized so far this year (380 compared to last year’s 541), but Police Chief Brian Harding said the numbers were skewed by a massive 85-gun haul on a single case last year. It’s also unclear to Harding, as of yet, if the decrease in gun seizures is a good or bad thing — it’s too early to tell if there are actually fewer guns on the streets or if authorities just haven’t found them yet.
Harding explained the department no longer has access to certain state grant funding allowing for extra resources, like overtime pay for officers to help battle gun violence, but he touted a local gun violence task force and technology the department is using.
The department uses a federal ballistics testing program, which speeds up the processing of bullet casings and guns to identify potential shooters within three days instead of seven.
The APD continues to emphasize its efforts in community policing. Deputy Chief Michael Miller, who leads the newly created Community Relations and Crime Prevention Division of the APD, spoke about how the 29 incoming APD cadets have spent less time in the classroom and more time in the community compared to previous cohorts.
Miller also highlighted a partnership with Project Ujima, creating what he said were “peace circles” of discussion between police officers and community members.