BOARDMAN Resolutions from chiefs of police group stir talks

The association wanted to clear the air about its resolutions.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Nearly seven weeks ago, members of the Mahoning Valley Chiefs of Police Association adopted a set of resolutions regarding county justice.
On Thursday, Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains and Jeffrey Patterson, Boardman Township police chief -- flanked by association members, township government officials and a county court prosecutor -- discussed the misunderstandings raised by those resolutions.
Gains, who called the meeting, said it was an attempt to "put to rest any rumors and innuendo" as to the resolutions' meaning.
Gains and the chiefs association said that some people in the court system had taken part of the resolutions as an insult. Others, they suggested, thought the resolutions insinuated that some people weren't doing their jobs.
He said the goal is to address any issues the police have with his office.
Resolutions' content
The association passed four resolutions. The first states that the county courts are understaffed, leading to criminals' slipping through the cracks, and that there is a dismal incarceration rate of dangerous criminals.
The second said recent layoffs of local law enforcement personnel is unacceptable. The third resolution states that the lack of a forensic pathologist for the county results in unreasonable delays in death investigations, and the fourth calls for better drug-treatment programs.
Pointing out problems
Patterson said the resolutions were meant to collectively point out problems with the county's criminal justice system, but the mention of problems in the courts received the bulk of media attention. On that issue is where he spent much of the discussion.
"I would like to point out that this resolution pointed no fingers at any one court, any one judge, any one prosecutor or any one attorney or any one at all," Patterson said. "We said the system is not adequate. We named no names, and we did that deliberately."
To emphasize the resolutions' points, Patterson cited many statistics and figures previously reported in The Vindicator.
Patterson said Mahoning County has a larger population than both Columbiana and Trumbull counties, yet it routinely sends fewer criminals to state prisons.
Youngstown, the largest city in Mahoning County, had the highest per capita murder rate in the state over the past decade.
Patterson also recalled an instance in which a man was arrested in Boardman for driving around at 2:30 a.m. with a loaded pistol, shotgun and a knife. He received 17 days in jail, was given credit for seven days served and received probation after pleading guilty to two felony firearms charges.
Patterson, speaking on behalf of the association, said that he is not blaming any particular judge or prosecutor, but that the lenient sentencing of felons has to stop.
He also said the county's part-time courts should be consolidated and converted to full-time service.
The picture
Gains said the picture is not as bad as it may seem from the statistics and comparisons with other areas, because he contends the crime rate has gotten better since he took office in 1997. He said that he is willing to address any problems he can, but that many of the association's concerns are regulated by state mandate.
Gains produced a letter his office has written to state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, asking that legislators work to enhance state penalties for certain types of repeat offenders, particularly those involving theft. The letter also asked that the penalties for felons who carry guns be increased.
Gains, a former Youngstown police officer, said he hopes law enforcement officials will call him with any future problems or concerns. He said he did not know some of the issues were a big deal because no one complained to him.
Patterson said state mandates should not stop local law enforcement from discussing the issues in the chiefs association's resolution.
"If we see issues with the system that are a problem, it is our job to talk about it, and that is what we are trying to do here," he said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com