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Youngstown will see start of the Neighborhood Response Unit on Monday

By Ellen Wagner
Youngstown Police Department Chief Carl Davis announces the Neighborhood Response Unit, which will reduce violent crime by removing dangerous criminals from the street. (Ellen Wagner | Mahoning Matters)
Youngstown Police Department Chief Carl Davis announces the Neighborhood Response Unit, which will reduce violent crime by removing dangerous criminals from the street. (Ellen Wagner | Mahoning Matters)

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Police Department's new Neighborhood Response Unit kicks off Monday with a goal to reduce violent crime in the city.

"The Neighborhood Response Units main objective is preventing and disrupting dangerous street-level criminal activity in an effort to provide a safe and secure environment and improve the quality of life within city neighborhoods," YPD Chief Carl Davis said during a press conference on Friday.

Routine calls for service will be handled outside of the unit, which will allow for the unit to dedicate their time and resources to investigate specific criminal activity.

About 70 percent of crimes in the city are committed by the same individuals, who make up 20 percent of offenders, Davis said.

"This unit will narrowly focus on that 20 percent," Davis said.

Six YPD officers will be transferred to the Neighborhood Response Unit and will work directly with Davis' office. The officers on the unit include:

  • Capt. Kevin Mercer;
  • Officer Jacob Short;
  • Officer Fred Herdman;
  • Officer Luis Villaplana;
  • Officer Carlos Eggleston Jr.;
  • Officer Amir Khan.

YPD Lt. Brian Butler said the officers will be deployed to neighborhoods with high crime rates.

"The Neighborhood Response Unit will be able to directly focus on crime as it's happening, and hopefully be able to prevent that before it happens based on statistically driven intelligence-led policing," Butler said.

The unit will also work with Operation Steel Penguins, community police officers and patrol officers in YPD. Davis said those efforts will be focused on reducing gun violence.

Operation Steel Penguins launched earlier this week. Davis said the operation already resulted in three guns seized, three arrests and a bulletproof vest collected in one traffic stop Thursday night.

The operation specifically focuses on those who are not permitted to carry guns but continue to possess them.

Butler said because it's difficult for community police officers to handle all neighborhood issues, the Neighborhood Response Unit will focus on ongoing crimes.

During Thursday's safety committee meeting, Davis announced the community police unit will be fully restored on June 21. The officers assigned to each ward include:

  • 1st ward: Officer Joe Moran;
  • 2nd ward: Officer Darkela Parker;
  • 3rd ward: Officer Shakir Perkins;
  • 4th ward: Officer Melvin Johnson;
  • 5th ward: Officer Phillip Skowron;
  • 6th ward: Officer Shawna-Cie Ott;
  • 7th ward: Officer John O'Neill.

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said the Neighborhood Response Unit is part of Davis' plan to have the community trust the police department and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

"This is just another layer that we're adding to continue to reduce the gun violence, reduce the violence [and] to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods across all seven wards of the city of Youngstown," Brown said.

This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 6:13 AM with the headline "Youngstown will see start of the Neighborhood Response Unit on Monday."