State award honors Youngstown Police Chief Hughes

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Chief Jimmy Hughes.

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

The chief called the award one of his top honors.

YOUNGSTOWN — Police Chief Jimmy Hughes has received a statewide award recognizing his years of service and dedication to the community.

The state issues awards to officers around the state each year in four categories — service, valor, training and group achievements. Hughes received an award for service.

The committee overseeing award recipients takes various matters into account when selecting award recipients, including the impact of the officer’s service activities to law enforcement and the community, the officer’s recognition within the community, law enforcement and community involvement separate from regular duties as an officer and the officer’s history of receiving departmental commendations, awards and decorations.

Hughes said he is honored that his peers have recognized the work being done in the department. He has been with the YPD for 32 years. He became police chief in January 2006.

“I was very impressed with the award obviously because it was given to me by a group of my peers on the award committee throughout the state,” said Hughes, a Youngstown East High School graduate. “That is a great honor for me. This is one of the top honors I have received here as chief or a police officer, period.”

Detective Sgt. Delphine Baldwin-Casey, a past award recipient, recommended the chief for the award based on what she sees as policies and efforts in the department under his watch.

“Chief Hughes has used his years of service to make significant changes,” said Baldwin-Casey in a letter to the awards selection committee.

“He is very sensitive to the special needs of females, minorities and the youths in the city of Youngstown. His recruiting programs have been very inclusive, and for the first time in the history of the Youngstown Police Department, the minority recruiting and women have been up.”

Baldwin-Casey also said Hughes can and does effectively communicate with people of various ethnic backgrounds and function in racially diverse situations, making everyone feel “safe and comfortable” — a vital skill for a chief in the Youngstown area, she said.

The award, Baldwin-Casey points out, is special to any recipient because the names of winners are permanently engraved on a wall at the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy in London, Ohio. The names, she said, are seen by anyone entering the facility.