TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo is on track to record its lowest homicide total in a year, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Police Chief Kevin Braun said Monday as the city released its third-quarter crime statistics, according to WTVG.
Homicides fell 26.7 percent through the first nine months of 2026, with 22 recorded compared with 30 over the same period in 2025, according to the city figures reported by WTVG. Robberies dropped 18.9 percent, from 228 to 185, thefts from motor vehicles fell 8 percent, and auto thefts declined 6.4 percent.
Not every category improved. Burglaries ticked up 1.3 percent, from 964 to 977, and the number of people shot — not counting self-inflicted shootings — rose 18.6 percent, from 113 to 134, the city reported.
“I think that is a significant step forward. Now, we’re not satisfied, we’d like to be even lower, but I do think the policies procedures and strategies we’ve put in place have not only caused our homicide rate to come down off the COVID spike, but now we can say it’s come down from what it was ten years ago,” Kapszukiewicz said at the briefing, according to WTVG.
The briefing was Braun’s first quarterly crime update as chief. He officially took over the department on November 1, after Chief Mike Troendle retired over the weekend, WTVG reported.
“It’s a bit of a mixed bag but there are things we can be optimistic about as far as our statistics here in the third quarter. The reality is: crime is down in our city. Full stop,” Braun said, according to WTVG. He credited partnerships with community organizations and other law enforcement agencies, police work and technology advances for the improvement in many categories.
Kapszukiewicz acknowledged the areas that moved the wrong way, saying burglaries and shootings both “ticked up,” but argued the homicide rate is the most important measure — and that, barring an unexpected tragedy, Toledo will finish 2026 with fewer homicides than any year in its recent history.
“These numbers show progress, and I want to recognize the officers who are out there doing this work every day. We’re seeing fewer homicides, robberies, and vehicle thefts, but we also know too many people are still being affected by gun violence. My focus is on supporting our officers and continuing to make Toledo a safer place to live,” Braun said, according to WTVG.
Photo: Chris Rycroft, CC BY 2.0