Violent crime in the area gets attention it deserves

The decision to conduct a mas- sive crackdown on crime in the Mahoning Valley, as opposed to just focusing on Youngstown, is a recognition that criminals know no boundaries. While the city has consistently had one of the highest per capita crime rates in the region and the state, other communities are now beginning to experience what Youngstown residents have been living with.

“Operation G.R.I.P./Violence — Gun Reduction & Interdiction Program” was launched earlier this month and is targeting gun crimes in Youngstown, Boardman, Austintown, Campbell, Struthers and Warren. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are participating in an effort led by Steven Dettelbach, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

During a news conference to announce Operation G.R.I.P., Dettelbach said the goal is to send a clear message to “those people who would use guns to terrorize us in our own community.”

“That message is we’re standing together, we are not afraid and we will not sit idly by and let this continue,” the U.S. attorney said.

The “we” includes the U.S. Marshal Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the police departments in Youngstown, Mill Creek Metroparks, Austintown, Boardman, Campbell, Struthers and Warren, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department, and the prosecutors offices in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

We list them because it gives area residents some insight into the extent of the crime-fighting campaign. The list also serves as reminder to residents that while law enforcement officials are on the streets, information about what’s going in the neighborhoods is key. That means residents have an important role to play being the eyes and ears for law enforcement.

As we said in a recent editorial, “Blockwatches are an important link between law abiding citizens and the police, especially regarding the operation of drug houses. Drug trafficking is at the root of much of a city’s violence.”

Murder rates

The link between the illegal possession of guns and a community’s homicide rate has been clearly illustrated by Youngstown’s murder rates over the years.

Law enforcement campaigns aimed at getting guns off the streets brought the number of violent deaths down. It isn’t rocket science. Take away the means and opportunities for committing crimes, and the community is made safer.

That is why Operation G.R.I.P. is so important and deserves the support of all law-abiding citizens. Neighborhoods that are being held hostage by criminals need to be cleaned up. Zero-tolerance must become the law of our land.

The program works. In 2003, between late June and early September, 400 arrests were made — and there was only one homicide recorded in Youngstown during that period.

Overall, the city ended up with the lowest number of homicides that year in a decade.

As Dettelbach and other law enforcement leaders have explained it, Operation G.R.I.P. is not only meant to take the “worst of the worst” criminals off the streets, but aims to ensure that the charges brought against them stick.

Thus, 150 officers have received special training, law enforcement agencies will work together on long-term investigations of criminals and gangs, and every case will be reviewed to determine the best court in which to prosecute.

A regional approach to fighting crime is timely and necessary.