Big gang roundup

[candy]

Allan is exactly right, we have to hold the Mayor and Chief of Police's feet to the fire, and turn the heat up full blast, and not let up until we see results ... their words aren't good enough ... their excuses are totally unacceptable ... their promises are only as good as the results. The Mayor will be on Dan Rivers program every month, and we must all tie up the phone lines putting pressure on him, our children and our families, and those businessmen who have committed themselves to our city deserve no less.

[AllanY2525]

Between the Y.P.D.,  the Y.S.U. Police  and the Mahoning Sheriff's Deputies, there
ARE enough cops in the city to respond to gang-related incidents.  KEEP
CALLING THE POLICE whenever you see a problem. 

If poor police response time is a problem,  then it should be waved in the new
mayor's face until he does something to correct the problem.

[Mary]

The problem with calling the police is that there are so few that they can not respond in a timely manner to catch these kids. I live on the east side and had things happening over here last summer, when we would call the cops sometimes it would take hours for them to get over here. They can't stop them if they can't get there.
As for what can be done with these kids first is education starting as young as 3 or 4. Build their confidence, a lot of these kids think they are throw aways but most of all show these kids that we mean business. when they commit a crime they should be punished, not taken to juvie then released with a judge saying they need a hug.
[

[Frank Rizzo]

Wanna be thugs!! Don't be intimidated...I'm the new whistle blower in the neighborhood. 800 I don't think so...maybe 80 at the most..the rest are wanna be gangsta's. If you see something going on get on your phone and call the police...don't just sit there and watch it, be about it and stop it.

[candy]

Some time ago I saw a TV program about a Priest that was working with gang members in order to bring them out of the gangs. He established a work program for them and it seemed to work. I wish I could remember his name so that some local pastor could contact him about establishing his program here.

Certainly the news of the roundup is negative news, but it also shows that the Mayor and new police chief are serious about cleaning up the city. We can't hide our heads in the sand and hope the problem goes away on it's own. We must keep the Mayor's and Police's feet to the fire.

Too many good people have invested in Youngstown's future to allow gangs to scare people away.

[AllanY2525]

Well, with the number of different law enforcement agencies involved in
this "gang roundup", maybe they could identify the members of these
gangs and try to use some kind of outreach program to get them OUT of
the gang life, and into something more productive and less destructive.

Local churches, the YMCA and YWCA, etc could help provide healty
things for these young people to do as an alternative to their former
activities as gang members.

[jay]

This is more bad publicity for the city of Youngstown.  Let's try to come up with some new ideas to deal with these young  criminals.

Please post your ideas to this forum.

[candy]

33 local gang members that plagued the South Side rounded up by City Police, ATF, FBI, US Marshalls and several other agencies.

The County Prosecutor stated that there are 800 gang members in Youngstown. "Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Ganes said Youngstown, with a population of roughly 80,000, has 800 gang members - 1 percent, which rivals big cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.