Youngstown prison has high gang concentration

Staff/wire report

COLUMBUS

The Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown has the highest percentage of gang members of any prison in the state, a new report finds

The report by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee found a total of 8,171 prison inmates classified as gang members in prisons statewide. The highest percentage was at the state’s penitentiary, or supermax prison, in Youngstown, where 286 inmates, or 63 percent of the inmate population, is in a gang.

The report released earlier this week also found that about 16 percent of all state inmates are involved in gang activity inside prison. The highest total number of gang members is at Lebanon Correctional Institution with 792 inmates, or 31 percent of the population.

The top gang remains the Heartless Felons. Dozens of members of that gang recently were indicted in Cuyahoga County on racketeering charges involving activity in the Cleveland juvenile detention center.

Prison gangs generally engage in criminal activity to promote power, wealth, and prestige, the report said. Common activity includes assaults on staff and inmates; drug, tobacco cellphone and contraband trafficking; extortion and cell robberies; gambling; and operating “stores” to sell contraband, the report added.

The report was conducted by the Correctional Instititution Inspection Committee.