Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300057
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a recent report, Police Chief Ricky Foutz told Town Council that Vinton had an 8.2 percent drop in the number of calls for police assistance in 1994. Many of the calls, however, come on Saturday.
Police were their busiest between 8 and 9 p.m. Saturday. Last year, Vinton police received 1,945 calls on Saturdays. Fridays, ranking second on the "busy scale," had 1,896 calls, also with most of them during the evening shift.
And coming in a close third place was Thursday with an average 1,760 calls. Wednesdays, with 1,582, had the fewest calls.
The evening shift was the busiest, with nearly 6,000 police calls logged between 4 p.m. and midnight.The day shift, between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., received the second highest number of calls with 3,707. The midnight shift had 2,444 calls.
Police Chief Ricky Foutz contributes the decrease in calls to several things. Cooperation by residents has played a big role, Foutz said, but also contributing was the departments' targeting of problem areas, increasing patrols and eliminating several crime rings which operated throughout the Roanoke Valley.
Citizens have responded to Police Department questionnaires, which not only seek comments on how the police are doing their jobs and how they might improve, Foutz said. The answers have helped police identify problem spots.
Although he would not identify specific problem areas, Foutz said they usually are places where crowds congregate, such as apartment complexes, shopping centers and entertainment spots.
Even though the report shows a decrease in calls in 1994, it also shows a general rise in police activity over the years. Police officers also logged 141,343 miles in 1994, which calculates to 387.24 miles per day.
The only blot on this year's report is the number of murders - one in 1993 but four in 1994, with none of the four yet cleared.
The 1994 slayings were the four members of the Hodges family, which is still under active investigation, Foutz said.
The report also shows: Calls from electronic alarms were down 26.9 percent, from 260 in 1993 to 190 in 1994; and the number of crimes reported dropped 10.03 percent, from 588 in 1993 to 529 in 1994. Vinton had 270 major crimes in 1994, compared to 335 in 1993.
The only category that showed an increase, the chief said, was an acceptable one - the number of arrests. In this category there was a 5.64 percent increase, from 496 in 1993 to 524 in 1994.
Mayor Charles Hill called the report "very positive," and Town Manager Clay Goodman said it "shows that the Police Department does a good job." Goodman said Town Council tries to do its part to help police by allocating as much money as possible for law enforcement.
For the 1994-95 fiscal year, council budgeted $906,504 for the Police Department. During the previous year, the amount was $883,634.
The budget for the 1995-96 fiscal year is now being formulated, Goodman said, and at this point it is not known how much will be allocated to the department. But, he said, council tries to increase the police allocation each year.
Hill said the report "indicates that Town Council's attempt to provide the police with needed tools to do its job is paying off.
"Town Council is highly supportive of the Police Deparment," he said, "and we attempt to provide the best police protection we can."
Hill said he also is pleased with the police department's programs to aid needy families and to take police awareness into the town's schools.
He also was complimentary of the department's Explore Cadet program, which targets young people between 14 and 21 who express an interest in police work. The mayor termed this a "very positive program." He said Vinton has hired several former cadets for the town's police force and that several others have gone into police work in other areas.
by CNB