YSU Summit to seek solution to crime

Violence influences what development will come to the area, an official said.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An anti-violence summit proposed by U.S. Attorney Greg White will take place at Youngstown State University on March 10, during spring break.
"I'm the nuts-and-bolts guy on this, to keep it on point," Richard J. Billak, chief executive officer at Community Corrections Association on Market Street, said Thursday. "The theme is 'continuing the fight against violence in our neighborhoods.'"
Last month, at the conclusion of the summer's multiagency Gun Reduction Interdiction Project, White suggested an anti-violence summit. The Cleveland-based U.S. attorney said his office would participate if community leaders wanted to explore long-range solutions.
White said Thursday that the summit will allow the "community standards" issue to be discussed.
"We all, as a community, need to determine what level of violence we're willing to accept and what we can do to prevent what we're not willing to accept," White said. "We hope to come up with a strategy of dealing with the violence."
The U.S. attorney said the community needs to realize that violence influences the type of private development willing to locate in Youngstown.
"There are a lot of people who want to be part of this and we need to bring them in," White said. "There's a lot of energy in the community."
Identifying the committed
For summit attendees, a 15-member planning committee is using the Youngstown 2010 mailing list as a way of identifying residents who have a commitment to the community. The guest list will include local, state and federal officials, Billak said.
"We reduced homicides and guns through GRIP -- how do we maintain that?" Billak said of the summit's goals. "It's a tough, complex problem."
Billak said the search is on for guest speakers who can present one or two nationally recognized program models that fight neighborhood crime.
Cleveland, for example, broke its churches and neighborhoods down into census tracts and solicited residents in those designated areas to follow court cases. The court watchers report back on the outcome of criminal cases of everyone arrested who lives in the targeted neighborhoods.
Billak said another successful program is in Baltimore, which has community policing, Weed and Seed and block watches "raised to a higher level."
The anti-violence summit in March will have break-out sessions to allow small groups to meet and brainstorm. "The idea is to have each group come back with one feasible project," he said.
Billak said White has offered to access Safe Neighborhood grants where possible for projects.
Billak believes some programs can be accomplished without funding by just coordinating neighborhood resources.
meade@vindy.com