Feds, city leaders plan united offensive on crime

May 4, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

YOUNGSTOWN

The city may be getting some federal government help in curbing gun violence this summer.

Leaders in area law enforcement, as well as Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains and Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, attended a “meet-and-greet” session Monday with Steven Dettelbach, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. They discussed crime prevention in Youngstown.

Dettelbach said there is no concrete plan in place yet, but officials are discussing a collaborative effort between local law enforcement and the federal government sometime this summer.

He said the effort would work here because of the crime and the willingness of local governments to work with his office.

“These kinds of efforts are not new. It’s about getting together and pooling our resources,” Dettelbach said. “We will, by pooling together limited resources, be as effective as we can be.”

Youngstown Police Chief Jimmy Hughes and Williams hope that combining resources will mean getting more guns off the streets and longer prison sentences for those using guns to commit crimes.

Hughes said any collaborative effort will afford local police the opportunity to seek stiffer punishments for gun crimes by prosecuting criminals under federal statutes. He said such an initiative would be great in combatting crime this summer.

“The momentum here is good, very positive,” the chief said. “This started as a meet and greet, and now we find ourselves looking at significant involvement from the U.S. attorney. We want to take full advantage of that.”

Williams said any potential program would build on the successes of the Violence and Gun Reduction Interdiction Program in the city in 2003. He said there must be a clear message that any person using a gun to commit crimes here will go to prison for a long time.

Williams said help from the federal government will assure tougher sentences on some violent gun crimes.

“We are happy to have them here and look forward to a productive relationship,” the mayor added.