Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990 TAG: 9004180315
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
While not offering any specifics, Wilder said Tuesday that he would like to see the curriculum being taught as early as next fall if it can be prepared that soon. "I think it is so important that it ought to be on the agenda" for quick implementation, the governor said.
Presumably, such a drug education curriculum would follow the concept of the state's mandatory sex education program, which is called the Family Life Education Curriculum. And while it is unlikely to generate the same level of controversy, it is possible that some may object to having another curriculum dictated to local schools by the state Board of Education.
Wilder revealed his interest in expanded drug education for pupils as he met with reporters following an appearance before the state Crime Commission.
Wilder went before the commission to brief its members on recommendations that came out of his statewide "Summit on Drugs" for law enforcement officials, which had ended just two hours earlier.
The governor said the recommendations from the two-day conference will be the basis for him to develop a statewide strategy to combat illegal drugs and drug-related crimes. He said he expects to announce that strategy, including possible legislative actions that will be required, before the 1991 General Assembly convenes in January.
In his appearance before the Crime Commission, Wilder mentioned several recommendations, including stiffer penalties for drug offenders, that were among dozens that law enforcement officials discussed.
"I'm not prepared to sign on to each and every one of them" but he said those he mentioned are the ones he will be looking at most closely as he fashions his anti-drug program.
Wilder noted that participants at the drug conference had repeatedly emphasized the need for better cooperation and coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and for "a central, coordinating mechanism," or an umbrella group that could "pull things together."
He suggested that regional drug task forces and advisory groups might be a way to "bring together the enforcement, prosecution and adjudication communities under one roof on a routine basis."
He also noted that conference participants expressed widespread support for improving statewide law enforcement through further development and refinement of multijurisdictional task forces and by broading the powers of jurisdictional grand juries. The participants, Wilder told the Crime Commission, also cited the need for more equity in funding for law enforcement activities.
Law enforcement officials recommended that the state help foster a higher level of community awareness and support for anti-drug efforts, especially among young people, and Wilder pledged that he will get personally involved in promoting this.
One idea, which Wilder said he has favored for a long time, would be to establish more "hot lines" that citizens can use to report crimes. Wilder said he sees the hot line concept as a valuable crime-fighting tool that also increases community involvement in anti-drug efforts.
Specifically, the conference also asked for more programs similar to DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), which sends police officers into the schools to talk to children about drugs, and for more education of parents about drugs.
Participants also recommended improved training for law enforcement professionals, more focus on juvenile issues and the causes of juvenile delinquency, expansion of alternatives to incarceration, such as electronic monitoring, and the need for additional funding support from the private sector to promote drug-free work places.
Wilder, who had warned participants at the drug conference on Monday not to look for the state to appropriate huge new sums for the war on drugs, did not mention one of the conference's recommendations: The use of state lottery proceeds to fund the war.
He did mention that they were strongly supportive of a proposed constitutional amendment that will be voted on in November to allow the use of forfeited drug assets for law enforcement activities and that they favor stiffer penalties and fines that can be used for anti-drug efforts.
by CNB