Cleveland Heights Police Make 70 Arrests in 97 Robberies

At this time last year, 95 robberies were reported in Cleveland Heights.

Robbery incidents reported jumped from 68 offenses in 2010 to 109 in 2011.

And so far in 2012, 97 robberies have been reported. But Police Chief Jeffrey Robertson said though the stats are slightly higher this year compared to this time last year, police have made 70 arrests — 43 adults and 27 kids. And the others are still under investigation.

"We’ve cleared 51 of those (robberies) with arrests," Robertson said.

"Robbery" can mean many different things, Robertson said. When a shoplifter uses physical force to try to flee, that's a robbery. When a cell phone is stolen from a person's hands, that's also a robbery. Attempted robberies are counted, too.

So far this year, 43 have been labeled "robbery," four attempted, three attempted aggravated and 47 aggravated robberies.

"Our ongoing goal is to lower those numbers," Robertson said.

He said burglaries and breaking and entering incidents, for example, are down this year. From 2010 to 2011, the number of burglaries nearly doubled, but Robertson said he's seeing a more positive outlook for 2012.

"We're making a lot of arrests overall," he said.