Youngstown planning to launch community policing initiative

By JOE GORMAN

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Police Chief Robin Lees did not have to move heaven and Earth to get his new Community Police Initiative up and running.

Just a civil service exam.

The new program, which will place one officer in each of the city’s seven wards exclusively, will begin sometime after the first of June, Lees said.

Several officers have expressed an interest in taking part in the program, but a final decision on who will be in the unit has not been made yet, Lees said. He also wants to hear from council members who may prefer a particular officer for the position in their ward.

After the officers are picked, they will undergo a training program, which will consist of issues that often pop up in community policing issues, such as animal or housing issues.

The goal of the unit is to have the one officer always in a particular ward instead of answering calls like they would if they were patrolling a beat. That way, they can concentrate on issues that are concerning to residents and also establish a presence in the ward.

“We want a team approach with this,” Lees said. “We want the officer engaged not only with the community, but with the council person in that area.”

He had hoped to get the program up and running much earlier. The city’s old civil service list for entry level patrolmen expired last year, however, which meant another test had to be given for entry level patrolmen. The process can take several months as the test has to be formulated, graded, and time allowed for appeals. Following that process, candidates must also undergo a background check.

Lees needed a test because he was using new hires to take the place of officers who would be joining the new unit as well as those who are retiring, so the department does not lose any of its strength on its beats or in the patrol division.

The class of officers most recently hired is now finishing training with departmental field training officers and will soon be ready to hit the streets on their own, Lees said. Five more officers will also be hired as soon as they can undergo physicals and background checks — and another three will be brought on after that.

Nancy Martin, head of the Brownlee Woods Neighborhood Association in the 7th Ward, said she wants the officers in the ward to work on issues such as blight, or making sure homes and businesses are kept up to code.

“Mostly people just want the neighborhood to be kept clean and nice,” Martin said. “We feel Brownlee Woods is a nice neighborhood and we want it to stay that way.”

Peggy Gurney of the Crandall Park North Neighborhood Association, in the 3rd Ward, said she also wants the officer in her ward to look after issues such junk cars or loud noises.

“These are things that are not 911 issues but we still would like to speak to a police officer,” Gurney said.

She also said she likes the fact that the same officer will be assigned to the ward.

“We’ll know who we’ll be talking to,” Gurney said.

Lees said he expects as the program picks up steam that there will be changes, so it is important that officers be able to adapt to them.

“We’re prepared to see this thing evolve and mold it to the individual needs of the neighborhoods,” Lees said.