TOLEDO, Ohio — While national crime stories dominate social media feeds and amplify fears about rising violence, Toledo Municipal Court Judge Timothy C. Kuhlman says the reality locally tells a much different story.
“People believe crime is up because everybody now has a cell phone and social media,” said Judge Kuhlman, who has served on the bench for 20 years. “When people hear of a crime in Seattle or Houston, they think it happened here. It’s the social media that causes them to believe that.”
According to recent data, recidivism rates, or the rate at which individuals reoffend, stands at 49% nationwide. In Ohio, that rate drops to 32.3%, while in Toledo it falls further to just 23.7%…