Warren city and school leaders address curbing recent crime
The city of Warren addresses the recent spike in crime this week with the announcement of plans to provide new resources to police.
WARREN, Ohio - The city of Warren addresses the recent spike in crime this week with the announcement of plans to provide new resources to police.
School and city leaders joined WFMJ Weekend Today's Press Pass to weigh in on how the issue will be addressed with the spending of an additional $40,000 in overtime, to new equipment for officers.
"A lot of that is going to be visible in the form of new cruisers, surveillance equipment," said Enzo Cantalamessa, city safety, and service director.
Police overtime will see a boost as the city struggles to hire new police officers after the passage of an income tax levy. Cantalamessa says the pools for potential job candidates is smaller than in years past.
While spending more on police overtime will help add an increased police presence in the city, Cantalamessa says manpower can only do so much.
"Increased police presence is always helpful, but someone intending to do bad things, they're going to do bad things," Cantalamessa said. "What we're seeing is a lot of it gets tied to sometimes arguing on social media, sometimes it's tied to a spike in the opioid crisis or epidemic," he said.
A shooting earlier this week forced Willard PreK-8 to go on lockdown on the first day back to school.
Superintendent Steve Chiaro tells 21 News students and staff handled the situation well. Despite the recent increase in crime, he says the district is seeing positive trends this year.
Chiaro points to an increase in enrollment and higher student and teacher retention rates in comparison to years past.
"Most every school district in the Trumbull and Mahoning County area has lost approximately five percent of their population over the last several years, Warren has turned that around been picking up students," he said.
Cantalamessa says the city will also benefit from a joint grant with the county for the purchase of $200,000 in new surveillance cameras that will be installed in and around the downtown area.
"It will give us a better scope and a better view of areas where difficulties may occur," he said.
