CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said numbers in almost every category of violent crime have dropped since the same time last year. 

Bibb and city leaders announced the results of the report during a press conference. They said the report showed domestic violence cases to date were still less than half of last year’s totals.

Highlights of the report included a decrease in arrests, 911 calls and gun seizures. The report also credited a more visible presence of Cleveland police officers walking their beats.

The city said it is taking a proactive approach curbing crime with increased funding for municipal league football programs and expanding programming at the city’s 22 neighborhood resource and recreation centers. 

Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond credited the department’s violence reduction task force for these lower figures. 

He said CPD worked with the Ohio State Highway Patrol to make arrests and confiscate illegal guns in several partnerships over the past year. 

The department implemented a new law that eliminated requirements for concealed carry permits. It took effect in June.

Drummond said that got rid of some ways officers can confiscate illegal guns and get them off the streets. 

“It makes our job a little bit more challenging in keeping guns off the street,” Drummond said. “We’re talking about illegal guns and so forth. It makes it more challenging for us and so forth and more difficult in traffic stops.”

The police department is still down hundreds of officers. The city said it’s hiring a marketing firm to help recruit new prospects, but Drummond said there’s a smaller​ pool of recruits to pick from since he first joined the force.