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

DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994                   TAG: 9402050142
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

POLL OF VA. VOTERS SAYS CRIME, NOT ECONOMY, IS TOP CONCERN

Crime has replaced the economy, health care and the environment as the top concern among Virginia voters, according to a new poll.

A survey of 807 registered voters found that 36 percent feel crime is the state's most important issue, Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. said in a poll compiled for several Virginia news organizations.

The economy was named the top concern by 31 percent of the voters contacted by the Columbia, Md.-based polling organization, followed by education at 13 percent.

As recently as 1992, polls showed people were most worried about their jobs and the economy, followed by health care and the environment, with crime usually fourth or fifth, said Del Ali, Mason-Dixon vice president.

And while 88 percent of the poll's respondents said they have confidence in their local police forces, that number dropped to 50 percent when voters were asked about their confidence in their local court systems.

"I think there is a sense that the courts and the criminal justice system are sentencing people to long sentences, but they recognize that with this liberal parole system, people are just getting back out again too quick," Attorney General Jim Gilmore said.

The poll, conducted in telephone interviews Jan. 27-29, has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

by CNB