In the News
Project aimed at curbing gangs takes shape in Lackawanna CountyThe Scranton Times-Tribune
Scranton, PA,
May 2, 2022
Other local projects to be funded from the spending package include $3 million for the demolition and construction of the Greenwood Hose Company/Moosic Borough Joint Fire and Public Safety Station, $2 million for Lackawanna College to create a Center for Technology Innovation and nearly $2 million in funding for local YMCAs to contract with organizations in their communities for mental health and substance abuse support services.
A new effort to curb street gangs in Lackawanna County will ease information sharing among different agencies, offer more gang, gun and illegal drug training and fund educational programs to prevent people from joining gangs, District Attorney Mark Powell said Monday. “We are at war and law enforcement officers and prosecutors are on the front lines,” Powell said during a news conference at the Lackawanna County Courthouse. Powell joined a group of police chiefs, officers and state troopers to announce that $2 million in federal funding secured by U.S. Rep Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic, will help investigate and disrupt what the prosecutor called “pervasive” gang activity in the county. Powell estimated that 30% or more of Lackawanna County Prison’s 727 inmates have ties to local and national gangs, including the Bloods and the Crips. |