Youngstown grant will add 7 officers

Staff report

Youngstown

The city will soon have the funds to hire seven additional officers, potentially exceeding the minimum number of officers the police chief says he needs to efficiently operate.

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday awarded Community Oriented Policing Services grants.

There were four cities and one county in Ohio, including Youngstown, selected to receive grant funding.

Youngstown is set to receive a $727,000 grant, which should cover the cost of hiring seven new officers.

“These grants underscore the Justice Department’s commitment to our region,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

The grants go directly to law-enforcement agencies to hire new and/or rehire career officers in an effort to increase their community-policing capacity and crime-prevention efforts.

Other areas to receive funding are Akron, Canton, Toledo and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department.

The Youngstown Police Department in May hired nine new officers, bringing the department to 152 full-time officers.

Police Chief Rod Foley told Mayor Charles Sammarone that was the number of officers he needed to maintain in order to run the department effectively.

Meanwhile, Newton Falls Police Department in Trumbull County received $125,000 to hire one police officer.