Block watch summit planned

The summit is open to all Mahoning Valley residents.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Crime-fighting doesn’t have to be limited to police.

The Mahoning Valley Task Force on Crime and Violence Prevention will have a block watch summit from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday at Choffin Career Center, 200 E. Wood St. The group was formerly called the mayor’s task force.

The summit is open to all residents and law enforcement in the Mahoning Valley. Letters were sent to churches in Youngstown, Campbell and Struthers, as well as police chiefs and elected officials in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

The importance of block watches will be discussed and those who attend will learn the skills necessary to be proactive in reducing crime.

The summit theme is “crime does not stop at the border.”

Robert Fiatal, superintendent of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, has been invited to talk about how residents can and should get more involved in crime prevention.

The event will feature a panel discussion of how residents can take a proactive role in helping law enforcement, said Rick George, of the Youngstown State University Center for Human Services, and chairman of the task force.

Panel members are Jay Macejko, Youngstown city prosecutor; Jimmy Hughes, Youngstown police chief; Bob Gavalier, Austintown police chief; Willie Williams, Eagle Eye Block Watch president; Stacey Stein, a YSU graduate student; and John Geras, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

George said those who attend will be invited to write any questions they may have and he will pass them on to the panel.

“We want people to know that crime is everywhere, not just Youngstown,” George said. “Mayor [Jay] Williams has said crime in Youngstown today can show up elsewhere tomorrow. We want people to get together and show them how to work together.”

He said he gets tired of the steady stream of crime news coupled with photos of inmates in orange jail uniforms.

“The elderly are often hesitant to sit outside because of crime in their neighborhoods,” George said. “They’re afraid to tell police out of fear of retaliation.”

He said neighborhoods that have block watches often have less crime. The task force, he said, will work with existing block watches and help get new ones started, including announcing their meetings.

Block watches can have as few as five to 10 members from one street, George said.

He said Youngstown Patrolmen Jim Welch and Bill Ward, who attend most block watch meetings in the city, have been “super” about listening to and acting upon residents’ complaints. The officers have been invited to attend the summit.