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Youngstown takes aim at juvenile crime
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown police are looking to curb juvenile crime before those young people move on to adulthood and adult crime.
Chief Rod Foley, Youngstown police, said the department has implemented a number of neighborhood sweeps, neighborhood crime crackdowns and is looking at a juvenile program used in Cleveland to curb the juvenile-crime rate. He said the goal is to catch wayward youths before they become adults and much more difficult to turn around.
The city has had 14 homicides this year, and about a third of those victims have been under 18. About half were under 22, and most were committed by gunfire.
“As a juvenile you shouldn’t want to run around with guns in your hands; that shouldn’t be on your agenda,” he said.
Foley said he plans to visit a Cleveland-area police department that has implemented a Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative program to see if the same concept will work in the Youngstown area. He said the program focuses on breaking down the criminal acts but also works at giving the juveniles activities to keep them out of trouble.
Foley said the department will have more information about the program after making the visit.
In the meantime, Foley said police are ramping up their presence in neighborhoods where juvenile crime has been on the rise. He said the message has to be clear that juvenile crime will not be tolerated — including violations of the city’s 11 p.m. juvenile curfew.
“We want more of a presence in these neighborhoods where kids seem to be getting out of control. If they are out there, we want to get to them,” said Foley. “We want to send the message that these kids can’t be hanging out past 11 p.m.”
Foley said officers checked a series of homes Thursday where juveniles who are on parole are living. From those searches police recovered five firearms — one from a 16-year-old walking down the street indiscriminately shooting — bullet proof vests, ammunition and small amounts of marijuana.
Police also stepped up efforts in various neighborhoods Friday and Saturday resulting in eight arrests, five curfew violations and 10 written warnings for minor traffic and walking-in- the-street violations. Police issue the warnings in an effort to make contact with people who may be wanted for larger crimes.