THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407210540
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A Canadian man on his honeymoon was pulled from his car Tuesday at a Virginia Beach Boulevard traffic light by two men who cut his face and robbed him in front of his new bride, police said.
Richard Chabot, 30, and his wife, whose name was not released, checked out of the Plantation Motel on Atlantic Avenue Wednesday morning after he was released from Sentara Bayside Hospital. The couple returned to their home in Lava, Quebec.
The men who robbed Chabot may not be caught. In fact, the odds that detectives will arrest the men are less than 3 in 10, according to statistics.
Virginia Beach detectives solved just 28 percent of the robberies reported last year, but that's still higher than the national average of 21 percent.
The problem, police say, is manpower. Tuesday's crime at Virginia Beach Boulevard and Stepney Lane was one of about 650 robberies that Beach police expect this year.
Last year, 631 crimes were investigated by the robbery squad's seven detectives. Each of those detectives was assigned about 90 cases.
A decade ago, a robbery squad didn't exist in Virginia Beach. Instead, a crew of detectives investigated all crimes against people, including robbery.
Veteran police remember those days as a time when detectives had a good chance of catching crooks, before crime soared while the number of investigators stayed relatively flat:
In 1983, 20 detectives were assigned to investigate 589 crimes against people, which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In 1993, 26 detectives investigated 1,248 of those crimes.
While the number of detectives investigating murders, rapes, robberies and assaults has risen only 30 percent in 10 years, the number of cases reported has climbed 112 percent.
A detective investigating crimes against individuals in 1983 could expect to investigate 29 cases, but his or her counterpart in 1993 investigated 48.
Simply, crimes are increasing far faster than are the number of detectives assigned to solve them.
``That's an understatement,'' said Sgt. Tony Zucaro, supervisor of the robbery squad. ``Because of manpower constraints, we have to set priorities. Bank robberies and robberies with multiple victims where there are serious injuries get more time and resources than ordinary street robberies. That's not to say that both situations don't warrant attention, but you have to set priorities.''
Because the victim in Tuesday's robbery was a tourist who was hurt during the crime, that case is likely to get more attention than others, police said.
The two men approached the car the tourist was driving shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday while he and his wife were stopped, police spokesman Lou Thurston said. One of the men yanked Chabot out of the car, and he was cut across the face.
The robbers were described as black males of medium height who were from 20 to 30 years old. The larger of the two was about 175 pounds, Thurston said. After taking money from Chabot, they ran.
Police ask anyone with information about the crime to call 427-0000.
Zucaro said Chabot told police he was willing to prosecute. Even if, apparently, it means another trip to Virginia Beach.
KEYWORDS: ROBBERY VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
by CNB