YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Youngstown Police Department and Mayor Tito Brown have called a news conference for the second time this week to update the public on what they're doing to help combat gun violence in the city.

Chief Carl Davis announced Friday the new YPD Neighborhood Response Unit, in which the main objective is to reduce violent crime by removing repeat offenders from the streets.

He said statistics have shown 20% of criminals commit 70% of violent crimes, which led to his decision.

The Neighborhood Response Unit will narrowly focus on this 20% and target specific neighborhood complaints and dangerous criminal activity.

"As everyone is undoubtedly aware, we have experienced an increase in the amount of gun violence, which stems from a feud between a couple of families and a couple of other factions here in the city," said Chief Davis. "But this distinct problem requires a unique and specialized response."

The chief said Operation Steel Penguins, an initiative announced on Tuesday, has also been out and about to get illegal guns off the streets of Youngstown.

On Thursday night, he said the initiative resulted in three arrests and the capture of three guns and a bulletproof vest all in one traffic stop.

Police said the main difference between the Neighborhood Response Unit and Operation Steel Penguins is that the response unit has a direct focus and will work directly out of Chief Davis' office.

Operation Steel Penguins also involves several different agencies including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office and the ATF.

YPD Lieutenant Brian Butler said Operation Steel Penguins deals with a lot of people that are on probation or parole.

He said the response unit instead will be able to specifically deploy officers to target hot spots of violent crime as it's happening and prevent crime before it happens.

"There's issues that need specifically addressed, and it's hard for community police that may be handling blight issues or council complaints, any multitude of things," said Lieutenant Butler. 

He said the community police unit will be brought back up to full staff, which was decided at the city's safety committee meeting Thursday night.

This means all seven wards as of June 21 of this year will be fully staffed. 

"I don't just want to go into the neighborhood for calls. I want to get into the neighborhoods where individuals know the officers, but the officers know those individuals who are lawbreakers in that neighborhood," said Mayor Brown. "We want to make sure that neighborhood crime reduction is gonna remain key to getting some stability in many of the neighborhoods and making sure some of those other neighborhoods stay on good graces."

The mayor said the city's main focus is to improve the quality of life for all citizens.

"We looked at national and other opportunities that are out there, and I hear the same that happened in other cities and I've always wondered how do we get to that point," said Mayor Brown. "Today I think we're at that point."

He said police are focusing on repeat offenders and the Neighborhood Response Unit is another layer that will help reduce gun violence in the city across all seven wards.