Akron's Crime Rates Are Falling, But Officers Are Being Attacked More Than Ever

A City Moving in the Right Direction

Akron's top public safety official delivered a largely encouraging report to city leaders last week — one that shows the Ohio city's sustained push against crime is producing real results. Speaking to Akron City Council's Public Safety Committee on September 21, Chief of Public Safety Craig Morgan said murder, burglary, robbery, and breaking and entering rates have all dropped, while documented officer interactions with the public and firearms recoveries are rising. The picture painted was one of measurable progress, even as one troubling countertrend demands attention.

Citing stats from the police department's Chief's Dashboard — a publicly accessible transparency tool that tracks crime monthly and annually — Morgan said murders were down 17% for the year. According to the dashboard, rapes are down 1% and auto thefts are down 5%, and there was one fewer felonious assault reported this year compared to the same time period last year. These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. For residents who have long viewed crime as one of Akron's most persistent challenges, the trend line is pointing in a welcome direction.

Officers Doing More — and Facing More Danger

So far in 2026, officers have recovered 59 more firearms than last year — an 11% increase — and park-and-walks, where officers leave their cruisers to connect with residents, have increased nearly 60%. Morgan noted that last year at this point, officers had completed almost 4,200 such interactions, compared to over 6,200 this year. That kind of community engagement is widely considered a cornerstone of effective modern policing, and the numbers suggest Akron's officers are leaning into it.

But there is a serious shadow over those gains. Assaults on officers have increased 76%, rising to 30 incidents in 2026 compared to 17 in 2025. Morgan did not mince words about it. "To be clear," Morgan said, "attacks on our officers — attacks on any of our safety forces whether it's police or fire — simply cannot be tolerated." The spike is a stark reminder that as officers step out of their vehicles and into neighborhoods more frequently, their exposure to potential danger rises with it.

Accountability and Reform Running Parallel

Reported use-of-force incidents are down 13%, and complaints against officers have dropped from 21 in 2025 to 18 so far in 2026. Those figures matter enormously in a city still working to rebuild trust between residents and law enforcement following years of tension. In May, the city released a report from the Police Executive Research Forum recommending 58 changes to the Akron Police Department's operations, and Morgan said the city has so far implemented 19 of those recommendations and is on track to implement 16 to 19 more by December.

Morgan, who was appointed Chief of Public Safety by Mayor Shammas Malik in January 2026, oversees not just the police department but also the Akron Fire Department, Emergency Management, and community violence intervention and prevention efforts. His background as the city's former chief prosecutor gives him an unusual vantage point — someone who spent decades seeing the consequences of crime up close before being tasked with preventing it.

Progress That Still Has Miles to Go

Broader data shows Akron recorded 6,370 reported offenses over the last 12 reported months, down 14% from the prior 12 months — a meaningful decline that aligns with what Morgan presented to the council. Still, the city faces a long road. Akron's overall crime rate remains 50% above the national average, and the city has higher crime than 88% of major U.S. cities with populations over 50,000. The downward trend is real, but the baseline from which it's falling remains high.

What the September 21 committee briefing ultimately revealed is a city in the middle of a genuine transformation — not a complete one, but a credible one. Fewer murders, fewer burglaries, more officer engagement, and a structured reform process all point toward a department and a city trying to change course. The sharp rise in assaults on officers is a problem that city leaders will need to address directly and urgently. How Akron responds to that specific challenge may well determine whether the broader progress holds.