Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 27, 1993 TAG: 9402180015
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES W. DYKE JR.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Most would agree there is no more important responsibility for government than assuring that our citizens are safe in their homes and in their neighborhoods. Clearly, addressing crime in Virginia will be a major concern for the 1994 General Assembly and for the new Allen administration.
The State Compensation Board, through its funding of sheriffs, commonwealth's attorneys and circuit-court clerks, has a keen interest and role in the criminal-justice process and in the state's efforts to reduce crime. As chairman of the compensation board, I have been giving a good deal of thought to how our state needs to address this serious concern.
All the data show that the incidents of crime, especially violent crime by young people, is up throughout the country. Moreover, other functions of our society have been affected by the ripples flowing from the crime epidemic. As Virginia secretary of education, for example, I led the first effort to address the issue of school safety in Virginia, realizing that our young people could not focus on getting a world-class education or any other kind of education if they were concerned about their safety on the way to and from school, or about whether the student sitting next to them was carrying a gun or other weapon.or would attack them or the teacher during the school day.
Hopefully, the school-safety initiatives begun by Gov. Douglas Wilder and the General Assembly over the past two years will be expanded and built uponunder the Allen administration. Since Superintendent of Public Instruction-designate Bill Bosher was also a leader in the school-safety drive, a continuation is a real possibility. School safety is not a Republican or Democratic issue.It needs to be addressed in a nonpartisan way which recognizes that the safety of our children must be above parochial and partisan considerations.
What to do about crime is also an issue that must rise above parochial and party concerns.and must focus on what needs to be done so that the people of Virginia can truly feel safe.Much attention will be focused on the issue of parole in the upcoming General Assembly session and now, perhaps, in a special assembly session. Whether or not you agree that parole should be abolished, significant revisions are needed so that those convicted of violent crimes and repeat offenders who are dangers to society serve their sentences.
That approach may provide a quick-fix, short-term improvement. But since the United States already has the highest incarceration rate in the world, one quickly concludes that the long-term solution to the crime problem is broader than just locking people up.
Americans, especially our politicians, love simple solutions to complex problems. But usually the simple solution does not provide the long-term answer to a complex problem.
We must be tough on crime and on criminals, especially violent and repeat offenders. People need to feel safe from becoming victims of criminal conduct. But the long-term solution to reducing crime must focus not only on building more prisons or abolishing parole. It must also focus on giving our young people the necessary educational skills to succeed, instilling in them a sense of self-worth and responsibility, and eliminating the sense of hopelessness that drives many of them to a criminal lifestyle.
Quite simply, itThis means devoting resources not only to building prisons but also to building schools where kids can learn the basic skills needed to be productive citizens. It means early-intervention programs and recreational programs for at-risk young people, to get them off the streets and into positive activities. It means more affordable housing and creative approaches like the successful "Weed and Seed" program. It means building our economy to create more jobs for which young people are prepared to compete. And it means families and communities shouldering the responsibilities of instilling basic values in our kids: hard work, responsibility, respect for others and themselves, and the realization that there will be severe consequences for criminal conduct.
So as the debate begins on parole, let it also expand to include early intervention, education, and job creation, as well as two issues related to incarceration: rehabilitation and treatment of those who might be turned away from a criminal lifestyle if we deal with their need to have other options available to stabilize their lives.
The use of alternatives to incarceration must also be fully explored. To the extent we can use less expensive ways of dealing with those who commit nonviolent crimes, then we can use more of our limited resources to address the best long-term solutions.
With the cost of building and operating prisons skyrocketing, it becomes clear that we cannot afford to build prisons fast enough to house every criminal. Part of the debate must focus on how we can responsibly pay for changes to the parole and sentencing process, but part of the debate must also be about which criminals need to be incarcerated and which can be punished and rehabilitated through alternatives to incarceration.
While it might sound good to say "lock them up," the solution requires more than applause lines. It requires people who communicate with one another and who realize that we need to work together and not treat each other as adversaries. It requires making tough decisions on how to spend limited resources. It requires leaders who state forthrightly that the solution to the crime problem requires addressing a wide range of social issues and problems, such as education, job creation, social services and family responsibility.
And in Virginia, constitutional officers have a significant role to play in seeing that the entire criminal-justice system works as effectively and efficiently as possible. Three constitutional offices have a direct impact on whether the criminal-justice system works well. Sheriffs, commonwealth's attorneys and circuit-court clerks are on the front line of the criminal-justice system. That is why the State Compensation Board has proposed significant increases in personnel and support for these three constitutional offices.
The proposals would add more sheriff's deputies to help with law enforcement, D.A.R.E. programs and jail overcrowding. More commonwealth's attorneys would become full-time prosecutors, with an increase in the number of assistants and more competitive salaries. More deputy clerks are needed to move the criminal-justice system along more smoothly, with fewer of the logjams that result in justice delayed.
The overriding theme in these proposals is a recognition that we have to combat crime not only by calling for an end to parole or to build more prisons, but alsoby addressing other aspects of the criminal-justice system that must function effectively if citizens are to be fully protected.
We have worked with the current administration to support as many of these proposals as can be afforded. We look forward to working cooperatively with the governor-elect on these matters, to address crime in a comprehensive way that really responds to the people's mandate to make reducing crime a top priority.
Reducing crime will require involvement of all segments of the community. It also requires a realization that addressing underlying social ills plays a major part in making our homes and neighborhoods safe. Let's hope the upcoming debate on parole and crime recognizes this reality. Keeping the debate focused on the big picture is the only way we can create a situation where our citizens truly feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods.
\ James W. Dyke Jr., Virginia secretary of education from 1990 to 1993, is chairman of the State Compensation Board and a partner with the law firm of McGuire Woods Battle & Boothe in McLean.
by CNB