THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407210469
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
Juveniles in Norfolk are more likely to run away from home than get into any other kind of trouble.
Portsmouth youths are arrested for assaults more often than any other crime.
And in Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach, juveniles are most likely to get picked up for stealing.
So say FBI juvenile arrest statistics for 1992, the most current year available.
A Top 10 list of youth crime in South Hampton Roads cities reflects the character of the city in which the crimes occurred, say law enforcement officials and crime experts.
For instance, Chesapeake's list is weighted heavily with status crimes - offenses like curfew violations, which would not be crimes at all if committed by adults. There are few violent crimes on the list, in part because Chesapeake is spread out, diverse and sparsely populated, says Wolfgang Pindur, a professor of urban studies and public administration at Old Dominion University.
And though runaways top the list in Norfolk, there are more crimes that reflect the drug and gang culture of the inner city than in the suburban cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
On the other hand, auto thefts rank high in the inner city, but are less prevalent in the suburbs, where kids are more likely to have their own cars to drive.
Across all five cities, larceny shows up either first or second.
``Larceny is what kids do,'' Pindur said. ``It's an easy crime for kids. It's a crime of convenience. Shop owners are less reluctant to file reports. I think they've decided that if kids don't realize there areconsequences, there will just be more larcenies.''
Among the most commonly pilfered items, say police: earrings, perfume and bathing suits for girls, and sneakers, sunglasses and jackets with sports logos for boys.
The lists offered few surprises to police officers who wrestle daily with juvenile crime.
``That Top 10 list of crimes stays about the same, but the order changes,'' says Suffolk Police Maj. William V. Dunning.
In Norfolk, weapons violations show up in fifth place - an indication of drug activity and gangs, Pindur said.
In Portsmouth, ``crimes of violence tend to appear in substantial numbers,'' he said. ``It often has to do with gang activities and drug abuse. It could also have to do with how the officers are being used in the community.''
The compactness of Norfolk and Portsmouth offers at least a partial explanation for a No. 3 ranking for motor vehicle thefts in those cities, Pindur said.
Suffolk's rural atmosphere means fewer crimes of violence, he said. Police there have more time to concentrate on status violations.
Virginia Beach is a middle-class community with middle-class kinds of crimes like larceny and vandalism, he said. Again, he would expect fewer crimes of violence.
Allocation of police officers and record-keeping methods play into the rankings.
For instance, Norfolk police closely monitor runaways. They logged 1,472 arrests in 1992.
``We have those running from a family or a problem at home and those who are being rebellious,'' said Norfolk Investigator R.M. Beacham. ``I don't think kids need a reason. There are so many varied reasons for kids running that you can't make a general statement about why.''
Sometimes they just leave for the weekend and come back in time for school on Monday.
``We've got to find out why these children are running,'' she said. ``Maybe the next time they can stay at home and talk it out.''
Norfolk Investigator G.J. Dayton, who works auto thefts, said part of the reason for the high number of car thefts may be economic factors.
``The opportunity to go and borrow your daddy's car is not there,'' he said. ``These kids want to drive a car. They're joy riding. They've got a girlfriend in Virginia Beach. They want to go see her.''
What kind of car do juveniles steal? ``Anything that rolls,'' Dayton said. ``The choice of most juveniles is the vehicle that's easiest to steal. There are some kids who are good at Toyotas and some good at GM products. They teach classes. For the past six weeks, the choice of cars has been Chrysler products.''
Vandalism is in the Top 10 in all five cities. It includes everything from the kid who has a new BB gun and wants to test it out on street lights to the youth who is caught as he tries to break into a car. He can't be charged with car theft because the act isn't completed - but he can be charged with vandalism.
``Vandalism is a strange crime - to damage someone's property for no reason other than to get a thrill out of doing it,'' Norfolk's Dayton said. ``That could lead to crimes against people. You're getting a high out of something that's so strange.''
Norfolk Police Capt. Robert E. Wash said juveniles are involved in drugs in all the cities: each city has an area conducive to open-air markets.
``Most of the juveniles are in it for the money,'' he said. ``The bulk of them are not users. They're not addicts if they use it at all.''
G.A. Brown, a spokesman for the Portsmouth Police Department, said he is not surprised that assaults top the list of crimes in that city.
``There isn't the tendency to seek a peaceful resolution to your problems,'' he said. ``Some of them could be drug-related and some could be retaliation. When you're talking about juveniles, anything could spark a reaction.''
Pindur offers further explanation.
``Typically, assaults occur when there are a lot of kids hanging out on the streets,'' he said. ``I suspect one explanation for Portsmouth is that it's a more compact kind of city. Virginia Beach might be comparable because it has strip shopping centers that quickly become hangouts. Typically, juveniles commit their crimes within a few miles of their home.''
In Virginia Beach, the most popular items to steal are car radios and tapes.
``It's a nightmare,'' says Virginia Beach Detective J.E. Webb. ``That plays into curfew violations. They're doing it after curfew.''
Webb spoke of one current craze: ``car-hopping.'' That's the practice of moving from car to car until the contents of one look appealing enough to the young thief to break in.
``I've had kids describe this to me,'' he said. ``If it's a windy night, it's a good night because no one will hear the glass shattering.''
Webb said juvenile offenders have little fear of getting caught. ``They're not scared,'' he said. ``They're just in here laughing and joking.''
Suffolk's Dunning says peer pressure is a key factor in juvenile crime. ``A lot of them are not accepted by the in crowd, so they go to the out crowd and they're accepted,'' he said. ``They're just like alcoholics. They're not satisfied until they've taken that last item.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff color Chart
Chesapeake
Norfolk
Portsmouth
Suffolk
Virginia Beach
[Includes arrests for specific juvenile crimes for 1992]
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
For copy of chart, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: CRIME JUVENILE OFFENDERS JUVENILE DELINQUENTS
by CNB