MAHONING COUNTY Statistics show inmates' release increases crime

Deputies on the U.S. marshals task force have not been reassigned.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County jail has roughly 770 inmates, 275 more than it did in October 1999, the last time deputy layoffs resulted in empty cells.
That means more inmates will face early release after deputies are laid off this time.
Back then, Sheriff Randall A. Wellington had been in office only two months when confronted with the need to cut his budget. Voters had rejected a half-cent sales tax in November 1997, but general fund reserves didn't deplete until nearly two years later.
In October 1999, the sheriff cut 91 deputies and 10 civilian employees. A month later, the half-cent tax reappeared on the ballot and passed for a five-year term.
Renewal of the tax, which expires Dec. 31, was rejected by voters this month. The tax generates about $14 million annually.
In 1999, the staff-per-inmate ratio was governed by a federal consent decree. That decree was lifted in November 2001.
A year ago, the same Akron attorneys who won the decree sued again over jail conditions -- alleging overcrowding and understaffing. Trial is set for Dec. 13.
Five years ago, the jail population was 495. When the layoffs hit, it was cut to 242, with the provision that 24 additional inmates could be housed temporarily to allow weekend bookings.
What happened
At the time, 17 deputies were assigned to provide security at Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Judges rejected the sheriff's request to reduce that number in 1999.
The courthouse now has 21 deputies.
Last week, in response to the most recent tax loss, Wellington said he laid off 31 intermittent full-time deputies who earn $10.91 per hour.
On Dec. 19, he plans to lay off 120 full-time deputies and four or five civilians. Their salary range is $12.13 to $18.09 per hour.
Anyone hired after Sept. 22, 1994, will likely be laid off, Wellington said.
Last week, the jail population hovered around 770.
To reduce the number of inmates, judges must agree to lower bonds, commute sentences or find alternative sentences, the sheriff said.
At any given time, roughly 70 percent of the inmates are awaiting court action -- they are not serving a sentence, officials have said.
Wellington provided The Vindicator with charts that show a drop in violent crime for Youngstown from 1999 to 2003 that he said correlates to having nearly 800 inmates.
The number of inmates housed at the jail has steadily risen over the past five years, with the biggest spike coming in 2003. The Gun Reduction Interdiction Program alone put 369 people in jail that summer, said Lt. Robin Lees, Youngstown Police Department spokesman.
What's expected
The success of locking up a lot of people charged with one crime is that they're often suspected of another, Lees said. He suggested that a release of inmates now will result in a rise in petty crime.
Lees used as an example what Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr. said about a rash of break-ins this summer in which the thief targeted jukeboxes. The prime suspect was arrested on a charge of driving under suspension, and the crimes stopped.
"How many others, if not in jail, would have committed other crimes?" Lees said. "If in jail, they don't have the opportunity."
Lees said men and women released from jail get thrown back into the criminal mix and that sometimes results in their becoming perpetrators or victims.
The jail has stayed full since the fall of 2003, partly because the U.S. marshals fugitive task force began operating out of the sheriff's department then as a continuation of GRIP.
The unit, which includes three deputies, each with 12 years' service, searches for men and women wanted on outstanding warrants.
Those deputies -- David Aey, Jeff Duzzny and Edward Mitchell -- are not being transferred to work in the jail, according to the sheriff. They are, however, required to report to the corrections division each day from now until Dec. 19 to see if they are needed and their first priority will be sheriff's department, not task force, assignments, he said.
Last week, the sheriff transferred 19 deputies and three supervisors to the corrections division from various other assignments, including road patrol, court security, special investigations unit and the records room.
He said Deputy Jeff Arnaut, assigned to the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force drug unit, is finishing up an investigation and then will be laid off in three weeks.
Overtime
Bob Magnuson, task force commander, said he expected to lose Arnaut, who is on vacation for two weeks. To pick up the slack, officers from other communities assigned to the task force will have to work overtime, Magnuson said.
"Every time I lose a major player working with informants, how do I replace that? I can't," Magnuson said. "I'm pulling triple duties, and I'm not a lead investigator; I'm an administrator."
Sgt. John Beshara and Deputy John Marenkovic, members of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, tactical unit of the law enforcement task force, were transferred a month ago to the jail, Wellington said. The violent crimes task force is coordinated by the FBI.
FBI Special Agent John Lichtefeld said Beshara and Marenkovic continue to work with the task force on a part-time basis. Lichtefeld said it definitely hurts not having them full time as they are considered key players.
Magnuson said the layoff of deputies, which translates into fewer people in jail because of staffing, will affect every community in Mahoning County. He agreed with Lees that crime will rise.
He said people arrested on misdemeanors, such as certain drug charges, theft, driving under suspension, assault and DUI, for example, will likely have to be released on a court summons or given a signature (own recognizance) bond. He estimated that more than 80 percent of arrests are misdemeanors.
meade@vindy.com