Cleveland City Council Public Safety Meeting - January 28, 2026
Cleveland City Council Public Safety Meeting - January 28, 2026
The Cleveland City Council Public Safety Committee convened to review three critical initiatives: the authorization of federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grants, the enforcement status of the updated criminal activity nuisance ordinance, and the operational status of the police drone program. The meeting was characterized by detailed discussions on funding allocations, statistical reporting discrepancies, and the need for increased inter-departmental coordination to address chronic neighborhood safety issues, particularly in Ward 4.
Consent Calendar
- Ordinance 26-2026 was authorized to enable the Director of Public Safety to apply for and accept Cuyahoga County grants for fiscal year 2025.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Councilman Joe Jones expressed strong concern regarding the lack of police continuity and protection in Ward 4 (Miles Avenue corridor), citing recurring robberies at retail stores (Family Dollar, Dollar General) and nuisance issues involving junkyards, stating that previous interventions by commanders had been ineffective.
- Councilman Joe Jones voiced frustration over the administration's perceived failure to provide adequate assistance to his neighborhood over nine years, highlighting the need for immediate enforcement action against specific criminal activities.
- Councilwoman Nikki Hudson requested clarification on whether nuisance declarations at declared properties successfully halted criminal activity.
- Councilwoman Nikki Hudson raised concerns about the ability to communicate with out-of-state property owners and the necessity of following up on nuisance letters before the certification of fines.
- Councilman Joe Jones advocated for council members to tour the Real-Time Crime Center and dispatch facilities to better understand the allocation of safety funds and operational workflows.
- Councilman Kevin Conwell questioned the lack of coordination between the police and other city departments (Building and Housing, Health) regarding nuisance properties.
- Councilman Joe Jones noted the effectiveness of past joint operations between vice squads and building inspectors and suggested a similar approach could be revitalized.
Discussion Items
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Grants
- Director of Public Safety detailed the breakdown of three separate grants: the Domestic Violence Program (Law Enforcement), the Sexual Assault Program (Rape Crisis Center), and the Domestic Violence Program (Prosecution). Total project amounts range from $64,407 to $225,860, with matching funds required from the city's general fund.
- City Prosecutor Clayla Jordan reported 735 misdemeanor cases brought in the previous year and provided statistics from the Domestic Violence Unit regarding 2,220 cases handled last year, with 46% referred for criminal charges. She emphasized that victims are less likely to cooperate after the initial report, necessitating community engagement.
- Councilwoman Stephanie House Jones requested disaggregated data by ward and specific categories (reporting vs. prosecution vs. conviction) to better understand the impact in individual communities.
- Councilwoman Nikki Hudson inquired about protections for victims who cannot or will not reintegrate with their families, prompting a discussion on advocacy supports and resource pamphlets.
- Councilman Joe Jones asked for data on male victims of domestic violence. Lieutenant Kyle Freeman confirmed that while the grant language focuses on female victims, male victims do come forward, though they are a minority in the reported data.
Criminal Activity Nuisance Ordinance
- Assistant Director Jason Shachner reported that since the ordinance amendments in June 2025, the administration has sent 71 warning letters and declared 14 properties as nuisances, a sharp increase from zero declared nuisances in 2024.
- Assistant Director Shachner explained that the previous ordinance had barriers, such as requiring a citation to count toward the three-event threshold, which has been removed to include probable cause based on interviews and video evidence.
- Councilman Joe Jones raised specific concerns about junkyards on Miles Avenue and repeated robberies at local stores (Family Dollar, Dollar General), requesting direct intervention and a plan of action from the safety director.
- Director of Public Safety agreed to work with the acting Fourth District Commander (Sean Smith) to address the specific addresses provided by Councilman Jones regarding junkyards and store robberies.
- Councilman Kevin Conwell questioned if police officers actively report persistent nuisance events they see while patrolling. Assistant Director Shachner confirmed that officers are trained to input data into the CAD system and have an internal form to report these issues to the division of analytics.
- Councilman Slife asked for clarification on the timeline for fines and tax certification, noting that fines of $100/day accrue immediately upon failure to submit an abatement plan, with certification to county property taxes occurring in September.
- Deputy Chief Jared Shalat confirmed that anonymous reporting is possible when calling 911, though anonymity may complicate administrative hearings if the complainant does not wish to testify.
Drone Program
- Deputy Chief Jared Shalat presented the status of the police drone program, noting 12 official deployments (1 currently owned, others for training) used solely for situational awareness at large events and crime scenes, not for surveillance or facial recognition.
- Councilman Joe Jones expressed a desire to inspect the drones and receive a demonstration, noting the program has been discussed for five years.
- Councilman Kevin Conwell raised safety concerns regarding obstructed sightlines due to overgrown vegetation blocking streetlights and drone flights, requesting that the Public Safety Department collaborate with Urban Forestry to address this.
- Deputy Chief Shalat and Director of Public Safety confirmed the existence of a "Public Safety Drone First Responder" pilot program where a drone will deploy from a fire station prior to fire/EMS arrival to assess scenes, aiming to optimize resource deployment.
- Councilman Conwell asked if the drone program would eventually cover the entire city; the administration indicated expansion depends on the success of the current single-station pilot.
Key Outcomes
- Ordinance 26-2026 was approved as read, authorizing the city to seek VAWA grants for the fiscal year.
- Data Requests: The Council directed the Director of Public Safety to provide the requested statistical data, including ward-level breakdowns of domestic violence and sexual assault cases, and prosecution outcomes, prior to the Finance Committee review.
- Nuisance Enforcement: The Council expressed satisfaction with the increase in nuisance letters and declarations since June 2025 but directed the Administration to ensure consistent reporting of warning letters to Council members.
- Ward 4 Issues: The Safety Director committed to investigating specific nuisance properties and crime patterns in Ward 4 provided by Councilman Jones.
- Drone Demonstration: The Committee agreed to coordinate a facility tour of the new Police Headquarters and a demonstration of the drone equipment for Council members.
- Inter-departmental Collaboration: The Director of Public Safety agreed to coordinate with Urban Forestry to address vegetation that obstructs streetlights and potential drone flight paths.
Omit any section with no relevant content. Use additional ### sections for major agenda items that don't fit the above categories.
(Note: The section "Public Comments & Testimony" was included as the transcript contains substantive public input from Council members regarding specific cases and systemic issues, distinct from the formal discussion items.)
Meeting Transcript
The public safety of Cleveland City Council, please come to order. Madam Clerk. Do we have a quorum? Would you please call the roll? Present. Thank you. And I want to apologize to the administration and to the viewing public. We were in a meeting, a very important meeting with VAPAC to talk about vacant properties and the issues that we're confronted with in the city of Cleveland as it pertains to residential issues, disinvestment, abandoned properties, et cetera. So it was a meeting that all council members were heavily engaged in, and I want to thank my colleagues for the line of questioning that they had, and I want to thank Frank Ford and people from VAPAC, the team that came in to make their presentation to us. So again, I want to uh thank the administration for their indulgence and the members of the command staff that are here. Um, as to what the um how it went with the tow truck operators. Absolutely. Okay, so without objection, ordinance number twelve fifty dash twenty twenty-five is held um at the call of the chair. Thank you. Ordinance number 26-2026 by Council members Palencick and Griffin by Departmental Request an emergency ordinance authorizing Director of Public Safety to enter public safety or a lot to apply for and accept grants from the Cuyahoga County Public Safety and Justice Services for fiscal year 2025. Stop Violence Against Women Act. Program for sexual assault advocate and for the law enforcement and prosecution components of the Cleveland Domestic Violence Program and authorizing one or more contracts with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and other entities to implement the grants. It was read the first time on January 12th, 2026, and referred to the various departments. It was approved by the Director of Public Safety, approved by Director of Finance. There's no legal objection. It was returned to committee on January 21st for proper assignment to committee. And again, approved by Director of Public Safety, approved by Director of Finance. There's no legal objection. And again, to um to the administration, my honorable colleagues and to the viewing public. This council takes very seriously the issue of domestic violence, sexual assault. And we've um and we vindicated that by the legislative action that we've taken. So at this time I'm gonna call upon the director. Yes, uh to the chair again, council safety uh committee members. The piece we're talking about is uh ordinance number 26 2026, and this uh legislation would authorize me to direct the public safety to apply for and accept three grants from Cague County for fiscal year 25, uh Violence Against Women Act or VOA grants program. This legislation will provide funding for the operation of the Cleveland Domestic Violence Program, law enforcement and prosecution, and the sexual Cleveland Sexual Assault Advocate. These grants have a match requirement. Uh and this is the purpose of the grant. The goal of the Violence Against Woman Act uh grant program is to provide funding to enhance an investigation, prosecution, and victim advocacy of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault cases. See if Cleveland will be reimbursed for costs associated with operating the Cleveland Domestic Violence Program. This is a partnership with the Cleveland Police Detectives, Cleveland prosecutors, the victim advocates for county witness victim services. Cleveland will also be reimbursed for the cost associated with a victim active advocate from the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center being assigned to the police sex crimes unit. Um this program uh the DV program for law enforcement, uh, the Cleveland police domestic violence unit detectors investigate reports of DV and stock and present them to the prosecutor. The detectives share an office at police headquarters with a victim advocates. The grant pays for partial salaries of two detectives, and this is how the expenses are are reimbursed. Personnel is 153,225 and 90 cents. That's for the detectives, travel 4500 for conferences, supplies 3,727, and also for a total of 161,453 and 37. I'm sorry, 57 cents. Okay. Uh the grant award is 121,090 and 18 cents, and the matching fund is to 40,363,039 cents. And and to the director, that's out of general fund, the 40,000. Correct that we have a uh, yes, that's correct. And for the total I mentioned before the 161,000. Thank you. And then also we have the sexual assault program. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center signs a victim advocate full-time to the police sex crimes unit to help sexual assault survivors traverse the justice system and locate any needed support.
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