Valley gets money to fight crime

A bill pending in Columbus would allow court costs to fund drug task forces.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Valley’s long-term plan to combat drug crime got a financial boost of $470,000.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, awarded checks Monday from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force and Mahoning County commissioners for substance abuse intervention.

The task force received $376,000, and $94,000 went to county common pleas Judge Jack Durkin’s drug court.

Ryan presented the checks at the Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency on Industrial Road. He said the funds will help curb crime in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

Lt. Robin Lees, head of the task force, said $376,000 represents about a one-year operating budget including the costs of a computer network, phones, three civilian employees and vehicle maintenance.

Among the 12 to 18 vehicles is an assault/command post truck call The Bear.

A bill pending in Columbus would increase moving violations court costs and create a drug law enforcement fund for task forces, he said. The additional court cost would be $10 per violation, with $3.50 going to drug task forces.

Lees said that, of the 28 task forces in Ohio, the task force, formed in 1988, has been fortunate over the years to supplement grants with seizures of cash and property. He said the court costs would provide a continuous and stable funding source.

The multiagency task force has 14 officers in its drug unit and about 50 assigned to the Crisis Response Team. The officers’ salaries are paid by their respective departments.

To pay for overtime, the task force receives roughly $100,000 each year from the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Lees said. Mahoning, Cuyahoga, Stark, Lucas and Summit counties are designated HIDTA.

The mission of HIDTA “is to reduce drug distribution and money laundering organizations, reduce the impact of illicit drugs and the associated violent crimes in the Ohio HIDTA region, and undermine the development of violent gangs that traffic in controlled substances,” according to its Web site.

Ryan said the $376,000 fits into the long-term plan to safeguard neighborhoods and streets in Youngstown, Warren and the Mahoning Valley. The congressman said “we have everyone asking for money” and the ones who get rewarded are those who build city-county relationships.

Ryan, meanwhile, said Judge Durkin’s drug court is a real model across the state. “What they’ve been able to do is amazing,” he said.

Defendants who successfully complete drug court have their charge dismissed.