The Akron and Cleveland police departments each had an unsolved rate of 87% and the Columbus Police Department had an unsolved rate of 85% in 2022. Canton was at 66% and Cincinnati was at 51%
Seven out of 10 violent crimes reported to police departments across the state in 2022 went unsolved, making Ohio the third worst state in the country, according to a new study by the Council of State Governments' Justice Center.
Researchers examined data from the FBI's Uniformed Crime Reporting Program to examine nationally and at the state level whether law enforcement is making arrests in violent crimes. Ohio ranked third in the number of unsolved violent crimes, behind Florida and New Mexico.
In Ohio, the violent crime rate is 23 percent lower than the national average, and the reporting rate of violent crimes has declined by three percent over the past decade. Yet in most cases, police do not make arrests.
The CSG Justice Center report found that 58% of the 718 murders, 65% of the 21,857 aggravated assaults, 79% of the 6,243 robberies and 86% of the 5,692 rapes reported in Ohio in 2022 remained unsolved.
Failure to enforce the law undermines public trust and creates the impression that the system is unable to protect the public, according to the CSG Justice Center.
There is no simple answer to the question of why the number of unsolved violent crimes is increasing, says Madeleine Dardeau, CSG's deputy political director for government initiatives.
“Authorities have been successful in solving more violent crimes by building community relationships and trust, implementing proven investigative techniques, improving crime analysis, and increasing victim and witness support,” she said. “For example, Omaha was able to significantly improve its homicide clearance rate through a comprehensive, community-led violence reduction effort that strengthened community-law enforcement relationships.”
Jay McDonald, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio, said police departments need to hire more staff and use more technology tools such as license plate readers. And courts need to keep people accused of violent crimes in prison and impose appropriate sentences upon conviction, he said.
Ohio police have worked to reduce crime rates, said McDonald, who is also Marion's police chief. “The Ohio FOP believes our officers should be commended for their efforts, but there is still much work to be done to make Ohio safer for all of our citizens.”
What is the crime rate in Ohio?
Crime is the most important issue for many people. More than six in 10 people believe that crime in the United States is an extremely or very serious problem, according to a Gallup poll published in January.
But in the long term, the violent crime rate has fallen significantly, from 758 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 1992 to 381 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022.
Recently, the numbers have been more mixed. FBI statistics released in October show a 1.7% drop in violent crime nationwide in 2022 compared to 2021. Murders and rapes fell by 6.1% and 5.4%, respectively, but there were slight increases in assaults and robberies.
The crime rate in Ohio is almost unchanged in 2022 compared to 2019.
Ohio's Largest Departments with the Highest Unsolved Cases
The Akron and Cleveland police departments each had a no-solve rate of 87% in 2022, and the Columbus Police Department had a no-solve rate of 85%.
Excluding agencies that had fewer than 500 reports of violent crime, here is a breakdown of 2022 unsolved crime rates for other major police departments in Ohio:
- Toledo, 70%
- Cincinnati, 51%
- Dayton, 64%
- Canton, 66%
- Springfield, 82%
Find the rate of unsolved violent crimes in your area
Laura A. Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which covers the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio..
