THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280563
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Sheriff Robert J. McCabe and a local victims' rights advocate are among six people named to help set policy for the state's juvenile justice board in coming months.
McCabe and Jacqueline S. Sharpe, founder of Victims Against Crime, were named this week by Gov. George F. Allen to fill vacant seats on the State Board of Youth and Family Services. Those positions came open in September when all but one member of the board quit because they disagreed with the governor's tough-on-crime philosophy.
The Department of Youth and Family Services develops programs for children in the state corrections system and oversees its facilities and court-services units.
McCabe and Sharpe will fill unexpired terms on the board through June 1995, when they could be reappointed to full, four-year terms.
``We need to get the message to juveniles that we're not going to tolerate all this criminal behavior and that they're going to be held accountable,'' McCabe said Thursday. ``I just get the feeling that they don't think of the consequences because there aren't any for juveniles. That's the sad part.''
McCabe brings experience with the Norfolk Police Department's youth bureau to the board.
``The most frustrating thing I saw was the revolving door,'' he said. ``They knew what they could get away with and what they couldn't. There are always excuses being made for juveniles. A lot of doctors, a lot of lawyers and a lot of policemen come from broken families. Why are they not leading a life of crime?''
The sheriff told the story of a youth he arrested for car theft - a boy in the streets awaiting charges on 10 other car thefts. Recently, McCabe renewed acquaintances with the youth in the Norfolk City Jail. He had just been sentenced to 12 years in prison on two counts of robbery, a malicious wounding and a firearms charge, McCabe said.
McCabe said he would like to see secure detention facilities for youths who have committed nonviolent crimes.
``I'm looking forward to having some kind of role in how we reform the juvenile system,'' McCabe said. ``I think this board has the opportunity to at least get started in the right direction.''
Sharpe founded the local victims rights' group in 1991 when she realized that existing programs couldn't help her cope with the murder of her 20-year-old son, who was gunned down in June 1990 in front of his two young daughters by an assailant he barely knew.
The group is designed to help adults and juveniles who are crime victims or family members of crime victims. Sharpe works as a materials handler for a Navy postal facility.
``As a grass-roots leader in the community, I consider it an honor that Governor Allen has appointed me'' to the board, Sharpe said. ``I am not a politician. I'm an everyday worker.''
Sharpe said she brings her understanding of crime and the plight of crime victims to the board. ``Working with Victims Against Crime has sharpened my awareness of many social ills and the effects of these problems on youth,'' she said.
Other new members appointed to the board are: Christina A. Frank of Prince William County, John E. ``Chip'' Harding of Charlottesville, John A. Wasowicz of Alexandria and retired Juvenile Court Judge Marvin L. Garner of Chesterfield County. ILLUSTRATION: Norfolk Sheriff Robert J. McCabe, left, and victims' rights
advocate Jacqueline S. Sharpe were named this week to fill unexpired
terms on a state board that oversees programs for children in the
corrections system.
KEYWORDS: APPOINTMENT STATE BOARD OF YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES by CNB