Center, Timothy Jackson, Jamestown Police Department chief and city public safety director, speaks during a city news conference announcing the additional hiring of three police officers and four firefighters. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

The city’s plan to combat rising gun violence and the EMS crisis is now known.

On Monday, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist; Anthony Dolce, Jamestown City Council president; members of the council Public Safety Committee; Timothy Jackson, Jamestown Police chief and city public safety director; and Matthew Coon, deputy fire chief; held a joint press conference to discuss ongoing public safety concerns.

Sundquist announced that the city will be hiring three new police officers and four new firefighters using American Rescue Plan Act funds. He said the new police officers will be used to create a gun violence unit and the four new firefighters will be used to operate a second EMS ambulance. He added last year there were 19 confirmed gun shootings, with seven already occurring this year. Also, he said 90 guns were confiscated by the police last year, which was more than double the 2020 total. He said, so far this year, 25 guns have been confiscated.

Jackson said most of the gun violence incidents that have occurred in the city don’t involve local residents and the drug trade.

“We are using everything at our disposal to combat gun violence,” he said.

Complete coverage can be found in Tuesday’s edition of The Post-Journal