YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -

The city of Youngstown has spent much of 2021 mired in violence.

There have already been more shootings than in all of 2020.

Among them, 23 lives have been lost.
 
The frustration among officials and those living in the city is mounting as Youngstown police work to piece together leads and try to prevent the next eruption of gunfire.
 
But this week, the Youngstown Police Association is set to take frustrations of its own to the streets.
 
Members will picket outside city hall and near the old Vindicator building Wednesday and Friday.
 
The union says it's a means to let the public in on what it calls unsatisfactory wage offers and other matters.
 
A Youngstown patrol officer starts out earning $34,299, and works their way up to $58,302.
 
For some perspective, Warren pays its officers $34,403 to start.
 
Canfield pays significantly more at $53,771 to start.
 
YSU pays its officers more per hour to start than the city, and in a comparably sized city like Lorain, rookie officers make $57,297.
 
Sixth Ward councilwoman and former YPD officer Anita Davis says it shouldn't take 12 years for an officer to attain the top tier salary.
 
While she doesn't believe the wage discrepancies compound the city's violence problem, Davis does believe the city should have a higher ratio of patrol officers to ranking officers.
 
"There's a two to one ratio...89 or 90 patrol officers and about 45 ranking officers...and that is definitely out of whack," said Davis.
 
The YPA sent a letter to Mayor Brown saying the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association will be joining them for the pickets.
 
The letter cites Youngstown's rich labor history and deep connections to unions as a reason for payment to reflect the service of police officers.