Crackdown on crime is working

Crackdown on crime is working

Mayor Charles Sammarone, Police Chief Rod Foley and others involved in enforcing the law in Youngstown as well as throughout the region are to be commended for their excellent work in prosecuting heroin and other drug syndicates in our midst. Over the past years, a close working relationship has been established with state and federal officials.

Increasingly, we are seeing members of the latest variant of organized crime brought to justice. This is no accident. It is the result of an aroused public who have demanded that public officials take positive actions to prevent our community from ever again being a haven for organized or any other form of criminal activity. Those days now are fortunately past. With a militant public, committed public officials and dedicated law enforcement, that goal of zero tolerance for criminals is well within our grasp.

In the past, I have been critical of how the city handled criminal issues, and it is only appropriate to offer my congratulations to Mayor Sammarone, Chief Foley, and all the others for a job well done.

Fred Viehe, Youngstown

The writer is a history professor at Youngstown State University.