YOUNGSTOWN Chief praises watch work

Block watches are the best source of first-hand crime-fighting information, the police chief says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Active block watches are the police department's strongest allies in the war on crime and blight, Police Chief Robert Bush told a South Side block watch.
"An active block watch is the key ingredient in what we do. It truly works,'' Bush told the South Avenue Block Watch on Monday at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.
"Block watches give us first-hand, real-time information. They're a vital link" concerning suspicious activities and vehicles in a neighborhood, he said.
He also characterized such organizations, whose members are persistent in calling police, as "the best wall against urban blight."
The police "know you're out there," Councilman John Nittoli, D-7th, president of the Buckeye Eyes and Ears Block Watch, told the group. Nittoli urged block watch members and others seeing suspicious activity to call city officials immediately to maximize the effectiveness of their response.
To combat drug houses and other forms of blight, Bush said he would like city council to consider enacting an ordinance similar to one in Chicago that imposes fines against landlords who tolerate drug dealing on their premises.
Council President John R. Swierz said the city's housing task force is likely to complete its work by December. The task force's recommendations "are going to be proactive and up-to-date," he said.
Making note of calls
All calls to the police are recorded and responded to with a police car, Bush said, urging callers dissatisfied with police response to make a note of the date and time and ask to speak to a supervisor, starting with a sergeant, then a lieutenant or captain.
"As you move up, if you don't get the response that you think you should get, please call my office," Bush urged.
The city police department, the largest between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, has eight to 10 cruisers on duty per evening and overnight shift, and has answered more than 80,000 calls for service so far this year, Bush said. By year's end, he predicted, that number will top 100,000.
The cruisers are designated as routine patrol cars but spend most of their time answering calls for service, Bush said. "We have very little time to do routine patrols. We run into a lot of things accidentally by going to other calls," he explained.