Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250053
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Showalter, who is challenging incumbent Phil Keith, said he will implement the plan if he wins the post as the county's head prosecutor.
Education is the key to early crime prevention, Showalter believes. DARE programs are admirable, he said, but that generally stops at the elementary school level, leaving middle and high school students lacking at a critical time in their lives.
"Most children are exposed to drugs, violence and peer pressure as they enter their adolescent years. Crime prevention education must continue past elementary school," Showalter said, reading from the mission statement of his proposed program.
To fill that gap, Showalter says that if he is elected he will initiate a plan that calls for the commonwealth's attorney's office to take the lead in educating adolescents about the consequences of crime, with cooperation from law enforcement, parents, students, teachers and citizens, to "deter criminal behavior before it starts."
Showalter's plan calls for establishing an advisory committee and peer support groups. The program would include:
Regular visits by the commonwealth's attorney and local law enforcement officials to middle and high schools "to educate them about the legal and physical consequences of juvenile crime and drug abuse."
Guided tours of the county jail.
Visits to the county courthouse to see the judicial system at work.
Allowing first-time, nonviolent juvenile offenders to serve community service time by speaking to school groups about their experiences.
Establishing a support group for juvenile offenders "to help them avoid further criminal behavior."
Having the commonwealth's attorney attend School Board and PTA meetings to keep parents and teachers informed about the program.
"I find it unfortunate and disturbing that juvenile crime and teen-aged drug use is on the rise once again. We cannot simply stand by and watch these problems continue to grow," Showalter said.
Keith has said he doesn't think it was the commonwealth's attorney's job to go into the schools to conduct such programs, with DARE and other programs already in existence. Keith said his first job is to prosecute.
Showalter agreed Tuesday that prosecuting is the commonwealth's attorney's primary job. But with proper organization, he believes there will be time to execute this program as well.
"My strong stance against violent crime and my desire to prosecute those who break the law is what led me to the notion that Montgomery County needed a crime prevention program that targeted middle school and high school-aged children," Showalter said.
"Joey is a very earnest young man but it takes more than earnestness to be an effective prosecutor ... ," Keith said Tuesday afternoon. "This seems to be the same old political rhetoric that comes up every [election] year. It's a trendy thing to bring up."
There is "no way what he proposes can be accomplished by this office without extra help, extra funding and extra personnel," he said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB