Police Chief Michael McGrath explains crime-fighting strategy at Cudell Meeting

(Plain Press, February 2008) Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath gave the keynote address at Cudell Improvement’s 33rd Annual Meeting on January 16 at Brennan’s Party Center on Triskett. McGrath gave an overview and history of the Cleveland Division of Police and then explained Mayor Frank Jackson’s Assault on Violent Crime Initiative.

Chief McGrath first qualified his remarks by saying “crime is a symptom of a social ill.” He said the city administration realizes that you can’t solve the violent crime problem in Cleveland without addressing social issues such as education, the breakdown in the family structure and jobs.

The administration’s violent crime fighting strategy consists of three components – enforcement, prevention and re-entry, said Chief McGrath.

He said the first component, enforcement, involves not only the Cleveland Division of Police, but also various law enforcement partnerships, community policing programs and neighborhood safety initiative.

Prevention involves community relations programs where police work with youth to help them make healthy choices to avoid drugs, violence and gangs. Prevention also involves programs that work with citizens to help them become involved in community policing and learn strategies to avoid being victims of crime.

The third component, re-entry, involves working with the Department of Corrections to help those returning to society from prison to re-enter society. McGrath said currently more than 62% of those leaving prison commit another crime and return to prison.

One of the partnerships the Cleveland Police have joined in order to suppress gun violence is the Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium (NOVCC). He said suppression teams of undercover officers partnering with federal officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms (ATF) identify individuals with characteristics that indicate they may be carrying a gun. He said then a “black and white” (police car) is sent to investigate. He said NOVCC members are offered Project Safe Neighborhoods Training from the ATF. The training helps them to identify characteristics that help determine if a person is carrying a gun. McGrath said last year out of 146 details by NOVCC there were 222 arrests and 102 handguns confiscated.
McGrath said the details are not random but based on intelligence that shows hot spots where there have been felonious assaults, robberies and drug arrests – locations where police are likely to find guns. The analysis of the hot spots also includes the time of day and days of the week when crime is most likely to occur at those spots, said McGrath.

In addition to confiscating the guns, McGrath said interdiction and intelligence teams track the guns to see the history of the guns, find out if they had been used in a crime elsewhere and find out where they were purchased.

In the area of drug law enforcement, McGrath said community input was crucial. He said, “We need your help. We also need you to be more specific.”  He said input from the public should include time of day when drug activity was most prevalent, license plate numbers and good descriptions of suspects.

According to McGrath, drugs, guns and gangs go together. “90% of the time, when you have one, you have another,” he noted.

McGrath said drug arrests for crack cocaine began in Cleveland in the early 1980s. He said crack cocaine has been the number one drug in Cleveland for the past 25 years. He said that the “crack babies” born during the initial years of the epidemic are now 20-25 years old. McGrath suspects the behavior of some of the violent criminal element is a result of having been exposed to crack cocaine while in the womb.

Following the keynote address, Cudell Improvement issued a number of awards. Joe Calabrese, General Manager of the Regional Transit Authority was given the Excellence in Government Award. Cudell Improvement Executive Director Anita Brindza praised Calabrese for the success of the new  Highland Square Station at W. 117th and Madison Avenue in the Cudell neighborhood.

Jack Krumhansel, a Cudell neighborhood resident, and a long time employee of the City of Cleveland Community Development Department, was the recipient of the Walter and Pauline Martens Lifetime Achievement Award. At the City of Cleveland, Krumhansel was involved in programs that helped neighborhoods such as the storefront program, Cleveland Action to Save Housing, City Works matching grants, the Summer Sprout Program and creating more parks and playgrounds.

A Community Award was given to Sara Hobbs for her involvement with the Clifton Historic District Historic Homes Project and the Design Review Committee. Hobbs is also involved in a new initiative, the Model Block Project focusing on W. 98th street between Madison and Lorain Avenue.

A Service Award was given to First District Commander Thomas McCartney for his leadership and “always making time for us in the community,” said Brindza.

Sgt Keith Haven, Detective Kathy DiSalvo and Detective Jeanne Joyce of the Detective Bureau received Service Awards for their action in solving several high profile robberies in the neighborhood.

Sgt. Kevin Kelly and Detectives Terri Volk and John Pitts of the Vice Unit were also recipients of Service Awards for their work on the streets of the Cudell neighborhood. Service awards also went to Police Community Service Unit members Lt. Lou Pipoly, Sgt. Marty Stanton and Officer Carlos Robles.

Police Officers Chuck Russel and Dave Bellian of the Traffic Unit were awarded Service Awards, as were Basic Patrol Police Officers Robert Miles, Todd Staimpel and William Vanverth.

Storefront Renovation Awards were given to Joe Coreno for renovation of the Coreno Building at 10202 Lorain Avenue and to Lisette Bryson for renovation of the Salon on Clifton at 10400 Clifton Blvd.

(See related photos here)

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