Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994 TAG: 9401230021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Serious crime in 1993 decreased for the second straight year in Roanoke, according to statistics compiled by city police.
With the exception of homicide - there were 11 last year, 10 in 1992 - the decline was across the board in seven categories used to measure crime.
Property crimes such as break-ins and thefts decreased 16 percent in 1993 from the year before, and violent offenses - homicides, rapes, robberies and malicious woundings - were down collectively by 4 percent.
And even though there was one more murder last year than the year before in Roanoke, 1993 still had one of the lowest homicide totals in more than a decade.
Despite the good news, polls show that people in Roanoke and across the nation are worried about crime, according to Dretha Phillips, an associate professor of sociology at Roanoke College.
Phillips and others say the public's fear may be fed by the news media, especially tabloid television and talk shows that search for the most sensational and shocking crime stories.
What upsets people most are "the kind of cases that run counter to your sensibilities, the unexplained drive-by shootings, the children with guns, even the Bobbitt case," Phillips said.
"It's absolutely justified and understandable" that people are more concerned than ever about crime, she said. "But it does run counter to the statistics."
Crime was one of the major issues in last year's governor's race, with successful candidate and now-Gov. George Allen pledging to abolish parole and get tough on criminals seemingly lurking behind every corner.
"I guess what amazes me is the governor's race focused so much on law and order, when in fact for the previous two years, crime has been down," Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said.
But officials warned against making too much of year-to-year fluctuations in crime totals.
There are still areas of Roanoke plagued by drug dealing and related violence; offenses by juveniles are increasing; and the number of break-ins shows no need to get rid of your burglar alarm.
"If the increased fear makes people take extra precautions, that's not necessarily bad," Phillips said. "The downside is that people can become prisoners in their own homes, not trusting anyone."
Phillips said the recent trends in Roanoke mirror what is happening nationally. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that serious crimes across the country declined 5 percent in the first six months of 1993 from the same period in 1992.
Violent crime decreased by 3 percent, and property crime was down 5 percent, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The same report showed serious crime was down 3 percent in 1992 from 1991.
But, as Phillips pointed out, "those are lump-sum aggregates; they do not speak to individual cases."
People are more likely to remember personal accounts of shocking crimes than the annual totals released by the FBI. And it is the shocking crimes that are so often the fodder of television talk shows and tabloid features.
"They have to get stories," Phillips said. "The more sensational, the better."
In Roanoke, officials say the city is especially fortunate in that there have been virtually no random killings in recent years, such as the attacks on tourists in Florida. Almost all of the city's murders in the past few years have involved arguments between people who knew each other.
"People in this area can count themselves very fortunate, whether they live in the city or the county or any community in the Valley," Roanoke Police Chief David Hooper said.
Authorities could not point to any one reason for Roanoke's recent downswing in crime. But here are a few possible explanations:
The success of a new community-oriented policing effort by Roanoke police. Since police sent COPE teams into high-crime areas, crime and drug dealing have been reduced.
While the effort has been limited to a couple of public housing developments, the overall objective of improving rapport between residents and police officers is having a broader impact, some say.
Residents who in the past may have looked the other way when a crime happened are now joining neighborhood Crime Watch programs and are more willing to call police about a suspicious-looking person on their block.
"If I had to point to any one factor that's had a major impact on crime in the city, I think it's the establishment of the COPE teams," Caldwell said.
After several years, public awareness and education efforts may be paying off. In 1989, Roanoke police started teaching DARE - Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education - classes to all fifth-graders.
Those students have now reached the age where they are most likely to begin committing crimes, if they ever do. DARE officials say the city's reduced crime rate may be a result, at least in part, of the program's success.
Although crack cocaine seems to be in Roanoke to stay, it may have reached its peak.
The decrease in crime "may partially be tied to a saturation of the drug market," Caldwell said. Crime was higher in Roanoke in the late 1980s, when crack had just arrived in the city and was relatively unchecked by law enforcement and other prevention initiatives.
Demographic changes, such as the decrease in the number of younger people living in Roanoke, may also play a part.
Statewide, Virginia's crime-prone 13- to 17-year-old age group declined throughout the 1980s.
"A lot of it has to do with the number of people in the prolific age group," Hooper said.
According to Richard Kern of the state's Department of Criminal Justice Services, the at-risk age group is beginning to grow again. Kern has predicted that a major crime wave will hit Virginia within the next 10 years, as the 6- and 7-year-olds of today come of age.
"We could be in the lull before the storm," Caldwell said.
Keywords:
YEAR 1993
by CNB