Official hopes to recall police

Photo

Tim Bowers

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

Service Director Doug Franklin said he’s hopeful the city’s revenues are increasing enough to recall laid-off Warren police officers in time to head off a potential summertime crime wave — such as the one that hit the city last July.

Franklin said he speaks with Auditor David Griffing and his staff several times per week about whether money is available for recalling laid-off officers, and the financial news has been positive.

“Our biggest priority is to put officers on the street. I’m cautiously optimistic if the economy stabilizes we’ll be able to start recalling officers,” he said, adding that it could happen very soon.

Franklin noted that the police department responded to 4,477 calls for service in May 2010, which is a 38 percent increase over the 3,254 calls in May 2009.

The calls for service were also up in March 2010 (3,815) and April 2010 (3,796).

May 2010 calls for service were 32 percent higher than the busiest month in all of 2009 — 3,399 calls for service in August 2009.

Franklin said he hasn’t forgotten the high number of robberies and burglaries that took place in the city last July, though the department did solve many of those crimes, which may deter the same thing from happening again.

The police department’s annual report said it investigated 26 robberies in July 2009, which is nine more than the next-highest month in 2009, September, when there were 17.

There were 90 burglaries and break-ins in July 2009, which is 15 more than the next-busiest month in 2009, November, when there were 75.

Franklin said the scheduling change police Chief Tim Bowers instituted last year to create overlapping 10-hour work shifts during the busiest times of the day helped offset the layoff of 20 police officers Jan. 1, 2009.

But Franklin agrees with Bowers that putting more officers on the street is the next-best option.

“We’re effectively responding, but it’s taxing on our forces,” Franklin said of the 61 officers plus the chief now on the payroll.

A recent analysis of the department said Warren (2000 census of 45,800 people) should have a police force of 84 officers.

Youngstown with a 2000 census of 82,026 people, has 159 officers.

“What happens is the guys are tired, working a lot of overtime,” Bowers said, agreeing on the effect of the layoffs and increasing number of calls for service.

Bowers noted that he even has been willing to consider employing part-time or temporary police officers in Warren if that would provide more manpower during the busy summer months.

The department has no reserve or part-time police officers.

Franklin said he’s hoping to bring back laid-off officers permanently and not have to work them during the busy months and lay them off again when the cold weather returns.

He has talked to some of the officers who have been laid off for the last 17 months, and some are willing to return to their old jobs, Franklin said.

Bowers said there were 28 robberies — some armed and some not — in the two wards of the city on either side of Parkman Road Northwest during the summer of 2009, characterizing that as “a lot of robberies.”

The crime spree caused many West Side businesses to close up earlier each evening to avoid potentially risky time periods.