Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 11, 1995 TAG: 9502140050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Across Virginia, 89 police departments in mostly rural cities, towns and counties have big plans for their $5.4 million share of federal crime bill funds.
Nationally, 6,660 localities will receive $434 million for more than 7,000 officers as part of President Clinton's pledge to put 100,000 additional police officers on the street, the Justice Department announced this week. The financing lasts for three years.
The federal program is called Community Orientated Policing Service - Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns, or COPS FAST.
Most of the Virginia departments approved for funds will get one new police officer; Charlottesville and Fairfax will be able to add two each. Each of the localities that qualified for the program has a population of less than 50,000 and must pay 25 percent of the new officer's salary and benefits. The new police officer should be on the street by late spring.
``One person here makes a big difference. We maintain 24-hour coverage in the town, and with five people, that's all we can do,'' said Tappahannock Police Chief James Barrett.
Barrett said he'll use the federal money to hire a full-time officer who can concentrate on juvenile crime and, he hopes, help prevent it.
King William County Sheriff Wayne Healy said the money will provide his county its first criminal investigator.
``We kind of depend on patrol deputies. If it's something they can solve on their own pretty quickly, they'll do it,'' he said. Otherwise, ``it's a team effort.''
The King William Sheriff's Office has only eight deputies, and the growing number of housing developments is putting a strain on his patrol capacity, Healy said.
U.S. Attorney Robert Crouch, whose office in Roanoke has served as a liaison between the Justice Department and a number of small departments, said rural communities often are overlooked because of the focus on urban crime.
``We're experiencing spill-over of the same thing,'' he said.
In Western and Southside Virginia, Interstate 81, U.S. 29, U.S. 58 and other arteries provide easy access for drug dealers from major cities, Crouch said.
About 450 pounds of cocaine were found hidden in a tractor-trailer load of melons after the truck overturned on U.S. 29 near Chatham last month.
Most of the shootings in South Boston and neighboring Halifax County are drug-related, and some have been connected to drug dealers based in Washington, D.C., and New York.
In Halifax, the new officer will increase the town police force by 25 percent, from four to five. Sgt. Glenn Stanley said the officer will help the department improve relations with residents.
``The better rapport you have with your citizens, the lower your crime rate,'' Stanley said. ``A lot of your more elderly people and even the younger folks believe the police department here is for writing tickets. They don't want to call us.''
Most of the departments receiving the grants are aiming for better community relations.
South Boston plans to put its officer on a bicycle to establish a more personal police presence in the city's high-crime areas, said Jack White, crime prevention officer.
``We would have liked to have more, but we'll start with one,'' he said. ``We'll just have to keep adding some more bricks as we go along.''
by CNB