MAHONING VALLEY Agency seeks funds for crisis training

The local task force must compete with agencies across the state for federal homeland security funds.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A Mahoning Valley agency is seeking federal funds to buy equipment and provide training that would prepare law enforcement officers for acts of terrorism.
Members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force authorized the force's Crisis Response Team on Thursday to apply for the money during a monthly meeting at the office of the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
One goal: Gerald "Lee" Hopper, special agent at the Youngstown office of the FBI, said a goal is to train team members in crisis response and to buy safety equipment for members and intelligence items.
Those items might be cameras that can slip under doors, computers, listening devices, communications equipment and other high-tech machines, said Canfield Police Chief David Blystone, CRT committee chairman.
Hopper said training might be done at military installations, such as Fort Dix, N.J.
Task Force Commander David Allen said another option would be to buy a radio system that can support communications from various law enforcement agencies at once.
About $1.3 million to $1.5 million is available to local law enforcement groups across the state through federal Edward Byrne Memorial Fund money, said Michael Blass, director of the state Office of Criminal Justice Services. The funds, for use between July and December, are funneled to local agencies across the state through the state office.
Being prepared: Boardman Police Chief Jeffrey Patterson stressed that local agencies must be prepared. He said the Crisis Response Team has helped out Boardman police in serious situations, including a standoff earlier this week.
"The initial response is still the local response," he said. "No matter what happens down the road, we have to be prepared. ... The key is to respond quickly locally and stabilize the incident."
Blass said agencies applying for the money must be specific as to how the money will relate to homeland security. The limited funds won't go far in meeting the needs of the 88 state counties and competition will be tight.
He said it makes sense for communities to join forces because every local law enforcement agency does not need to be prepared to handle a major catastrophe by itself.
Blass said key is for communities to join together in multicounty task forces. While he called Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force a "model" for others in the state, he also said he'd like to see the group join forces with Columbiana County agencies.