SitemapWednesday, March 23, 2016
Progress continues on the Department of Justice Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Program on Youngstown's South Side.
YNDC was awarded a BCJI planning grant in 2015 to work with research and law enforcement partners to analyze crime patterns and develop a cross-sector implementation strategy to address the drivers on crime in a targeted area, which is bounded by Hillman Ave., Midlothian Blvd., Zedaker St., and the Mahoning River. The project management team includes YNDC staff, Youngstown Police Department staff, and researchers from the Youngstown State University Department of Criminal Justice and the Regional Economic Development Initiative. The first phase of the project includes an analysis of reported property and violent crimes, drug raids, simple assaults, and gun fire reports in order to identify and map crime hotspots. Findings will be shared with residents and community leaders in the target area to gather input on possible drivers of crime and to develop potential solutions. Crime-reduction strategies will be implemented by a cross-sector partnership of law enforcement agencies, social service providers, and neighborhood institutions in order to not only address the crime hotspots themselves, but also the underlying causes of crime in the target area.