If it takes 20 years to resolve 40 years of deterioration...

[connie254]

There's a lot of problems that are long term in my neighborhood-none of them have quick fixes and most of the solutions are probably illegal-see below.
There's a lot of people who walk the streets back and forth to the Daily Mart all day long, buying a single item each time(are they stupid or is there something else going on?) They are on welfare and get section 8 housing.  They don't care about their housing situation, therefore let the grass grow tall and the garbage stay out on the curb 24/7.  Last year at my yard sale, I sold a woman with extra long fingernails that walked up a sponge mop. After she paid me she asked me what it was for and how to use it. Most of the items I sold were $1 and people paid me with change sometimes because they didn't have bills.
Almost every woman living in above housing situation has multiple children that run around without supervision(try calling children services-by the time they get out here, the children are playing next street over). The mothers are busy talking to the future father of their next child with everything hanging out or so tight that you can see birthmarks.  Solutions-sterilize them, male and female, or stop giving then money for children conceived after they hit the welfare rolls.
Demolishing the houses is fine but what are they going to do with the mess they leave behind?
There seems to be an awful lot of able bodied men and women who claim they are disabled and get on Social Security in my neck of the woods. If my son who is autistic, mentally around 6-7 and can do things around the house for me and pack groceries when I take him shopping, then get those lazy bums to work-if they quit or get fired-no welfare check for the month.
I used to be very liberal until I saw firsthand all the crap that people do and the excuses they make for their way of life.  My parents didn't graduate high school but I was expected to go to college.  Parents that I work with help their kids out with their homework.  I was on my own after 4th grade math-new math- and 1st grade with my mother. My father knew almost everything that I asked of him but couldn't spell. Excuses that kids are stuck in their social developmental plight doesn't sit with me. You make yourself successful or not to a certain degree if you choose to do something about it.
I tend to favor the Libertarian point of view with drugs. Make all drugs legal, then hopefully little crime stealing to pay for drugs.  The people who do them to excess will overdose and we won't pay for their welfare checks anymore.

Has anyone wondered why Youngstown has the highest income tax in the state? Is it because we support a high number of nonworking citizens in the city?

[Micky]

There certainly is a quick fix for solving crime in Youngtown - GET RID OF THE MAYOR! His comments were pathetic and shows his lack of intelligence!  Waiting 20 years for a decrease in crime is criminal in itself.  Forget about economic development - no business will locate in a city without "adequate" police and fire safety not to mention the highest city income tax in the whole state. 
I hope there is such a loud outrage over his comments. Can he be impeached?

Spend our Safety Tax monies on our safety forces as it was intended. 
Stop putting that money into the general fund for paybacks to friends.
Put an end to the attorneys and judges delaying and continuing criminal cases.
Stop the probation, rehab, and release on bond for violent criminals.  Too bad if it's their first offense - they get released only to go out and increase their violent behavior.

You would NEVER hear that crime may be reduced in 20 years in other violent cities!  They've taken proactive tactics and it's not taking 20 years.  If you don't know what to do, ask for federal and state assistance.  Stop trying to push a stupid 2010 plan that will only turn Ytown into a giant picnic spot for Cleveland and Pittsburgh. 

To our YPD - we thank you for all that you're able to do and we pray that you will always be safe!!!!!

[yfdgricker]

Sounds like the Police Chief and Mayor are lacking any ideas to even try and combat the city's crime problem. Apparently quadruple murders, gang violence, 3 hour response times to 'non shooting and stabbing' calls are OK.

I really like the 'If it takes 20 years to resolve 40 years of deterioration, that's not unreasonable" quote. Appearently adequate and timely protection of tax paying citizens is unreasonable. WTF?

Keep things as they are now and you can kiss any chance of getting people to move into the city. You will continue to demolish houses for the next 10-20 years and in the meantime everyone else except the criminals and welfare junkies will move out. 

So look for things to continue status quo for another 20 years. "Youngstown this year will be safer than it was last year." Sure, that happens when 20-40 people are dead because of shootings and stabbings, some of which were part of the problem. I hope that none of our police officers get hurt or killed because of something that could have been done had the dept been proactive. I have several friends now on the YPD, stay safe guys.       

[yfdgricker]

Problem, solution
Story by David Skolnick, City Hall Reporter in the Youngstown Vindicator on 4/30/07.

Fighting crime requires more than one approach, Mayor Jay Williams and Police Chief Jimmy Hughes say.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown's crime problem won't be solved by a plan to house city misdemeanor prisoners in the Mahoning County Jail, the mayor and police chief say. But it's a good start, say officials.

"It's one piece" of the solution, Mayor Jay Williams said. "It's one component."

There is no quick fix for reducing the amount of crime, Williams said, adding that addressing the city's crime problem is his No. 1 priority as mayor.

"There are days when I'm a proponent of a 1,000-bed jail," he said.

The jail was designed to hold 468 prisoners, and can house 564 with double-bunking, said county Sheriff Randall Wellington. Also, the currently closed misdemeanant jail can hold an additional 96 prisoners.

Besides finances, education and economic development are important factors in fighting crime, Williams said.

"We need to educate children to deter crime," Williams said.

Teachers are not solely responsible for that, although their involvement is vital to steering children in the right direction, he said. That responsibility needs to be shared by parents, community and faith-based leaders.

Personal responsibility

The breakdown of the traditional family structure has led some to become professional criminals, said Williams and Police Chief Jimmy Hughes.

"People don't want to talk about morality," Williams said. "We need to help people not make bad decisions."

Williams and Hughes were reared on the city's East Side.

"I've seen people get killed right in front of me" as a youth, Hughes said. "There is a lot of social pressure" on kids to commit illegal acts — pressure put on by their friends.

Williams grew up with people who were killed before they made it to age 25, and others who are doing exceptionally well for themselves.

"There is no guarantee you'll make it in life," he said. "There is no easy solution. I flipped burgers at McDonald's. I dug ditches. There are jobs out there for people who want to work."

Williams hears criticism from people who want him to spend as much money as the city has on hiring police officers to fight crime. But city money can be and is being used in other ways to reduce the crime rate, he said.

Related efforts

The city spent $1.2 million in 2006 tearing down dilapidated structures and will spend $1.5 million this year. About 400 structures, mostly vacant houses, were demolished last year.

With fewer vacant buildings to use for illegal activities, crime should decrease, Williams said.

Also, providing economic incentives for companies to locate in Youngstown — bringing good-paying jobs with them — is another way to combat crime, he said.

"Economic development helps provide jobs for people who would otherwise commit a crime," Williams said. "But I realize there are some people who are evil, and nothing can be done with them."

Given the choice between a job and being a criminal, there are those who will choose the latter, he said.

Williams said a lack of money is a problem facing the county's criminal justice system. The county's financial instability is the reason for the cuts at the jail, he said.

The county has had trouble passing its two 0.5-percent, five-year sales taxes. On May 8, voters will get a chance to weigh in on a 0.5-percent continuous sales tax.

"A continuous tax would allow the community to operate in a manner that's responsible, permits long-range planning and keeps county functions operating," he said.

Chief's thoughts

Despite the challenges, and knowing that the jail crisis is far from being resolved, Youngstown police officers see the changes as a step in the right direction, Hughes said.

"Not keeping criminals in jail was a miserable thing," he said about the county's inability to properly fund the jail, which led to the early release of criminals and suspects. "It wasn't a morale booster to know people charged would be out of jail before you could finish the paperwork on their arrest."

The inability to house criminals who needed to be incarcerated had a "terrible effect" on the city, Williams said.

"You're already dealing with someone who's not integrated into society the way he should be," he said. "They're out on the street except those that commit the ultimate crimes of rape, murder and felonious assault. Those who commit the quality-of-life crimes should also be incarcerated."

Crime has been a long-standing problem in Youngstown and won't be resolved overnight, Williams said.

"We'll end the year safer than previous years," he said. "It's a long process. If it takes 20 years to resolve 40 years of deterioration, that's not unreasonable. It's not an excuse. It's a fact. ... We won't eradicate crime in Youngstown, but if we reduce it, we'll have accomplished a lot."

skolnick@vindy.com