THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407080608
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Police credit much of it to luck, but say the city's spotless homicide record so far this year also reflects a more community-oriented approach to law enforcement.
Roanoke usually averages 13 or 14 homicides each year, said Sgt. Stan Smith, head of the robbery-homicide squad for the Roanoke Police Department.
Roanoke's last homicide occurred Dec. 13 when a woman was killed in a domestic dispute, Smith said. In all of 1993, Roanoke had 11 homicides, five of which occurred in the first six months.
``I've been a police officer for 23 years and I haven't recalled a year when we've gone the first half without a homicide,'' Smith said.
``Number one, we've just been lucky,'' Smith said. ``Often it's just a matter of location - of an inch left or right - whether that person lives or dies.''
In contrast, Richmond's tally is on a record-setting pace. It stood at 82 on Wednesday, compared with 55 homicides a year ago at this time.
While Roanoke, with 96,000 people, is slightly less than half the size of Richmond, its homicide totals have been disproportionately smaller. Richmond reported 112 homicides last year - more than ten times as many as Roanoke did.
Smith said Roanoke's recent annual homicide record was 17 in 1987. Richmond's record number of homicides was 120 in 1992.
Statewide, there were 237 homicides the first five months of this year, said Virginia State Police statistical analyst Norma Poole. That compares with 219 through the same period last year and 539 for all of 1993, she said.
Smith said he hopes Roanoke police are doing something right. The rates for malicious wounding and other violent crimes that could have become homicides also are down substantially over the past two years, he said.
Mayor David A. Bowers cited the city's crime-fighting approach, especially its programs targeting high-crime areas. He also said the department has become more visible and accessible by putting some officers on horses and bicycles.
``Between 1992 and 1993, crime actually went down,'' Bowers said. ``Larceny was down almost 18 percent, burglary was down over 8 percent and rape over 30 percent.''
Smith said a crackdown on drug violence also has contributed to this year's lack of homicides, but that most killings in the city typically are committed by a victim's relatives or acquaintances.
Counseling services and shelters may be helping to prevent heated tempers from flaring out of control, Smith said.
``Maybe people are tired of it and learning to get along, or maybe finding other ways to vent,'' Smith said. ``The Police Department is more in tune to referring people to these services.''
KEYWORDS: MURDER RATE CRIME VIRGINIA ROANOKE by CNB