TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Wednesday night, Toledo's top cop shared the State of the Department with the community.
Police Chief George Kral touched on a number of issues regarding the department and looked ahead to the future.
The meeting was kind of a wrap up of the town hall meetings that have taken place throughout the year. Throughout those meetings, Chief Kral listened to the community, and Wednesday, was his chance to report back.
Kral connected with the community throughout his speech.
"It was very information. I think the chief did an excellent job of what the police department is doing for the city," said attendee Steve Eaton.
Eaton said that the crime statistics stood out to him during the meeting. One of several topics Kral touched on.
Right now, Chief Kral says homicides are up 36 percent this year, from 24 to 30, but overall, crime is down 8 to 12 percent.
Personnel was another subject Kral addressed.
The chief says the number of officers is down this year, but he hopes to be back to full strength by 2018. He also talked about minority recruiting, which hit home for a local pastor.
"That's really a crucial part of it, because we need people that reflect the community. I think that he's doing a good job of doing that," said Michael Key, a pastor at People's Missionary Baptist Church.
Chief Kral is the first chief of police to deliver these reviews of the department to the community. He says he wants to make it clear that he and his officers work for the citizens of Toledo.
The theme of the entire event was getting the community involved.
"I think a lot of times we lose sight that we work for the public, so we want to have a police department that answers our community's issues and police what they feel is important," Kral said.
Kral said he plans to unveil his latest efforts at tapping into what Toledo residents think about the department and what they can improve on.
Wednesday, a community relations survey built by the University of the Toledo went on the department's website. The project was funded by grant money.
The survey will be used to find out more about where people think the department is doing well and not so well.
"We have put a lot of effort into developing this so we want to make sure it is being utilized and not people just getting online after they have been pulled over with issues," Kral said. "But even if you haven't had a run in with the police, we want to hear what you have to say."
The chief stressed how without the community's participation, they can't make the changes people want. A statement that many identified with.
"The turnout could be a little better, but for those who are here, we need to take what we learn from him and take it back to our community and try to get some things to make it happen," said Willie Knight en Jr.
Chief Kral also talked about the need to start looking ahead at the next five years for planning purposes.
They plan to start the town hall meetings again after the first of the year.
