YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Police Department announced Thursday afternoon that it has been awarded an Ohio Department of Public Safety grant to strengthen safety in the downtown area.

The Community Safety Initiative launched Thursday with a meeting of local partners — business owners who will collaborate with the Youngstown Police Department to proactively address potential contributors to criminal activity and quality-of-life concerns, according to a city press release.

Initial work had already begun following an uptick in reports of juveniles congregating and creating an unsafe environment near the Western Reserve Port Authority bus station and surrounding properties downtown, the release states. As a result, the police department partnered with WRTA administrators, the Youngstown City Schools, Mahoning Valley Community School and the Academy for Urban Scholars.

The release states that notifications will go out to parents and/or guardians in connection to the initiative, stating that the purpose is to “help curtail potential disorderly behaviors and encourage accountability.”

Also, a team of police officers will be assigned to the bus station area to help enforce laws regarding “compulsory attendance violations, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct infractions.” Students also may be subject to additional school disciplinary action under the district’s Codea of Excellence, it adds.

“The Youngstown Police Department will continue to partner with downtown business owners, residents, schools and partners, to identify concerns and implement effective strategies,” said Police Chief Sharon Cole. “We remain committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all who rely on WRTA for transportation, as well as residents, visitors and businesses,” the release states.

COUNTY PROSECUTOR

Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro’s office also issued a press release Thursday stating that she supports the plans the Youngstown Police Department announced earlier Thursday to address disruptions by youth and adults in the downtown area, especially near the Western Reserve Transit Authority bus station and along Federal and Commerce Streets.

The release stated that the Youngstown Police Department “heard from downtown business owners and other stakeholders about what police say is becoming an ‘everyday problem'” of disruptions.

Another area where the disruptions are occurring are around businesses and parking areas along Federal and Commerce streets, Maro’s press release stated.

“While police are taking steps to increase their presence in the central business district Prosecutor Maro told those in attendance she and her staff stand ready to work with police to ensure those who break the law are held accountable, telling those in attendance, “It is our responsibility to ensure that those who break the law know that there will be consequences enforced — and that the community should likewise be able to rely on that.”

Neither press release specified where the announcement of the initiative took place.

FIRST REPORT

Problems at the downtown WRTA bus station came to light after a March 13 incident in which there were several fights between juveniles who had gathered in front of the bus terminal downtown.

Officers responded at 4:05 p.m. and saw a crowd of 40 to 50 Youngstown City School District students before several boys were slammed to the concrete as they punched and kicked one another, according to a Youngstown police report.

One officer used pepper spray on some of the primary aggressors and bystanders before backup arrived and the crowd began to disperse, the report states. Police were unable to make any arrests or detain anyone because of the size of the crowd.

Such disorderly and disruptive incidents have apparently been a chronic and ongoing problem for a few years, specifically, during the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 school years, the police report stated.

Multiple downtown business owners have called 911 to report such behaviors, and authorities have responded to fights between high school students on a nearly daily basis during those two school years, according to the report.

At the time, Youngstown City School District spokeswoman Stacy Quinones said the district was aware of the incident, but school officials were unable to verify the “enrollment status” of the 40 to 50 students, since the incident took place off school property.

“Because the incidents occurred at the WRTA during non-school hours and at a non-school event outside our buildings, they fall outside the geographical and operational boundaries of our educational authority,” she stated.

The oversight of public and business spaces remains with local law enforcement and city agencies, rather than with the district or other schools whose students also use public transit, Quinones stated in an email.

“Though we want to be clear that, at this time, it is an assumption that all involved are students from our buildings; transit hubs often include a diverse mix of adults and youth from the region,” Quinones added. The district intended to work with law enforcement and WRTA officials to identify the students who played a role in the incident, she said.

MONDAY ARRESTS

Then on Monday, Youngstown police arrested three girls following another altercation at the downtown bus station.

A Youngstown police report stated that officers were monitoring the bus station at 3:31 p.m. “due to multiple fights happening.” They saw three girls “attempt to go after another female” while other kids were cheering as another group tried to hold the three girls back.

While in the WRTA parking lot, the three girls again began to fight the other girl, the report states. Officers converged on the fight, which now had become “large” with additional juveniles involved.

The girl came up to officers and said she had been “jumped,” and her phone was stolen. Officers approached the three girls and saw them “taking a phone and smashing it in the road,” the report states.

The three girls were arrested and placed in a police cruiser, but officers also had to disperse a “large crowd of juveniles that were yelling.” One of the three girls refused to give her name and was threatened with an additional charge of obstructing official business.

All three girls admitted to “jumping” the other girl, and one of the three advised that the two others stole the girl’s phone. The three girls were all taken to the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center on a high-level felony of robbery charge, along with a low-level felony of aggravated rioting.