THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409010275
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GREG GOLDFARB, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Criminal charges at the Oceanfront are at an all-time high, according to end-of-the-summer figures released this week by the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Police charged people with 19,982 offenses between April 1 and Aug. 29, said Capt. W.W. Baker of the Second Precinct.
That represents a 46 percent increase over last summer's total of 13,426.
Of those offenses, about 25 to 30 percent of them involved actual arrests - a 50 percent increase over last summer.
Parking tickets have led the way this year, accounting for 8,619 charges. Misdemeanor crimes, including urinating in public and being publicly drunk, totaled 3,618; courtesy turnovers by local police to military police numbered 255; and other traffic violations numbered 7,318. Only 109 cases involve felony charges.
``These boys and girls have been working their rear-ends off down here,'' said Baker, of a core of between 60 and 65 officers, who work all shifts, and cover all beats, riding everything from all-terrain vehicles to horses. ``The (numerical) increase is higher than I've ever known it to be in the past.''
This year's increase follows a 50 percent jump in charges made last summer compared to 1992, Baker said.
Although the figures indicate that Oceanfront law enforcement has tightened over the years since the 1989 Labor Day weekend unrest, the desire to ensure Virginia Beach's reputation as a family beach goes back much further than that, Baker said.
He explained that serious concerns began as early as 1976, when bicentennial Fourth of July crowds on Atlantic Avenue turned into an unruly and violent mob that attacked police after breaking up a nightclub fight.
Subsequent summers passed by relatively peaceful, Baker said, except for the three major summer holidays - Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day - which attract throngs of visitors.
Local business owners began several years ago to work with city and police officials to ensure that the city remained an attractive tourist destination.
``We've been very concerned about law enforcement at the Oceanfront for at least 10 years,'' said Richard P. Anoia, chairman of the Resort Leadership Council, which represents the resort borough's retailers, innkeepers and restaurateurs. ``We really noticed a major change about three years ago, but there is still plenty of lawless acts going on.''
Anoia said the police department has done an ``admirable job'' in policing the area more closely, and commends local business people who have supplied their own security officers for extra safety.
As an unintentional result, however, ``there's a large problem pushing itself back into the neighborhoods,'' said Anoia, noting the ongoing battle between local residents and motorists over parking.
Anoia said ``stepped up enforcement,'' additional police officers and creating a regular police presence at the Oceanfront as early as March have done much to promote public safety. By maintaining a constant and stringent law enforcement effort from before the summer tourist season begins until after it ends, and by curbing Atlantic Avenue traffic, Virginia Beach is calmer and safer for everyone, said Anoia.
Despite those efforts, some troublemakers haven't gotten the message, he added.
``You're welcome to come to the Oceanfront, but you're not going to be welcome if you're coming down here to be lawless,'' said Anoia, a motel owner. ``Those people will not be tolerated.''
Since the 1989 Labor Day weekend, when larger-than-expected crowds of locals, students and other daytrippers clashed with police, the city has taken numerous actions designed to enhance its burgeoning multicultural community, and has trained its police officers to be especially sensitive to tourists and other visitors.
``We've probably reached better than halfway to what the problem is down here,'' said Anoia.
Baker said he is well aware of the constantly changing nature of the Oceanfront and knows that as Virginia Beach continues to grow, locals, as well as tourists, will expect the police to work harder than ever.
Baker said that as Virginia Beach continues to become more popular as an attractive place in which to live, work and visit, the new growth will bring with it new concerns, like racial diversity.
Unlike 20 years ago, when the city's minority population was almost ``non-existent,'' Baker said, there are now many more ethnic groups represented on local streets.
``The police department has gone to great length to make the officers sensitive to what's going on,'' said Baker. ``In general, 90 percent of the kids are no different than other kids. They come here for a good time and they don't want trouble. It's the rowdy, college-type, free-for-all that we're having trouble with.''
There are constant calls, Baker said, from locals who want the police to clamp down on tourists' behavior, and vice versa.
Baker said he conducted a one-month study to determine if any minority group was being treated unfairly by police. He found that only about 11 or 12 percent of those who get in trouble with the police at the Oceanfront are African-Americans.
He also said that since the 1989 Labor Day weekend, which carried in its wake several lawsuits against the city for alleged improper police behavior, there have been no suits filed against any Virginia Beach police officers, Baker said. by CNB