TRUMBULL COUNTY Program focuses on crime areas

'The police applied for another federal grant to extend the program.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Reducing crime and increasing crime prevention and police visibility are goals of a program initiated to have more police patrolling neighborhoods.
Mayor Michael J. O'Brien, Safety-Service Director William "Doug" Franklin and members of the police department announced the plan Friday morning flanked by community and church leaders and members of the public.
The city will deploy officers on overtime using a $23,000 federal grant to problem areas. Those areas will be determined based on statistics of calls and crimes.
The program is a start to taking the city's neighborhoods back, the mayor said, adding it will increase interaction with the police department and the community.
Capt. Tim Bowers estimated the grant will cover about 700 man hours, and he just applied for an additional $15,000 grant, which was the maximum available this year, to extend the program.
"It's starting to let the community know who our officers are on the street," Franklin said.
Tax renewal
Next month, city voters will be asked to renew the 0.5 percent income tax for the police and fire departments in a special election. The tax generates about $5 million annually. The tax, initially passed in 2001, runs out at the end of this year. Voters narrowly rejected a ballot issue in March to renew the tax for three years.
O'Brien said the officers will work on quality-of-life issues and community problems in addition to crime. That information will be delivered to Franklin and the corresponding department head.
The Rev. Ronald Fowlis of East Side Church of Christ, whose Tod Avenue home has been shot at twice in the last few years, was encouraged upon hearing of the plan. No one was hurt, but each time a family member had been sitting in the area where the bullets came through shortly before the shots were fired, he said.
"If we want our street and neighborhood to be safe, we have to work together," the Rev. Mr. Fowlis said.
He's lived in his home for 42 years, moving in before General Motors located to Lordstown, when Tod Avenue was a quiet, slow-moving two-lane road. Crime in his neighborhood has increased over the years.
The Rev. Kevin Parks of Grace AME Church on Main Avenue, who also lives on Main, believes the effort could engender trust between the community and the police department.