
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 11, 1994                   TAG: 9410240098
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FACING THE FEAR

Murder is on a record pace in Richmond; the homicide rate in the state capital is the second highest in the country.

For the first eight months of the year the city of Roanoke had no murders, but the small town of Vinton was rocked by a quadruple murder that has left investigators puzzled.

Polls show crime to be the number one concern of the state's citizens. But Virginia is a relatively low-crime state and already spends more than many others putting felons behind bars.

To this mix, add a governor who was elected, in part, because of his promise to be tough on crime and to reform Virginia's criminal-justice system.

Are the public's fears about crime in Virginia justified? Are Virginians willing to pay the price of Gov. George Allen's changes? What are the causes of fear and violence? Is the Virginia General Assembly willing to spend the political capital necessary to back the governor?

Prompted by these issues and the special session of the legislature scheduled to begin Sept.19, Virginia's four largest daily newspapers combined with The Associated Press to create this series.

The papers - the Daily Press of Newport News, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Roanoke Times & World-News and The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk - and AP assigned a team of veteran reporters and editors to this task.

by CNB