Crime down in Youngstown for 3rd straight year
YOUNGSTOWN
Statistics provided by the Youngstown Police Department show that crime in the city is down for the third straight year.
In 2014, 3,718 crimes were reported or investigated, down from 4,226 in 2013, a decrease of 508 crimes — also down from 2012, when 4,538 crimes were reported or investigated.
The trend downward has been in all major categories the department tracks except for auto theft, when there was an increase of 34 auto thefts in 2013 from 2012. For 2014, however, the number of auto thefts dropped by 80 as 315 were reported as compared with 395 in 2013.
Police Chief Robin Lees said there were three main reasons for the continuation of the trend in 2014, his first year as chief.
Lees said the city’s patrol division is very proactive, often preventing crimes by getting guns and drugs off the streets through traffic stops or other contacts.
“It’s hard to put a number on that,” Lees said.
The chief also credited the city’s detective bureau for its work in reducing the number of homicides from 27 two years ago to 20 in 2014. He said that in homicide investigations last year, detectives were able to make quick arrests that prevented spinoff or retaliation violence that could have led to other slayings and shootings.
Councilman Nathaniel Pinkard, D-3rd Ward, who is the president of council’s safety committee and a former police chief for Mill Creek MetroParks police, said the police officers are to be credited for the downturn because of the work they do on the streets.
Read more about his and the chief's assessments in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.