THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411240705
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN E. QUINONES MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Crime in the city has dropped significantly, thanks not only to the police but also to citizens, Police Chief Melvin C. High says.
The Police Department reports that the city's crime rate was 10 percent lower for the first 10 months of this year than for the same period in 1993.
Homicides dropped 2 percent and auto thefts dipped 24 percent.
Rape, robbery, assault, burglary and larceny also decreased. Arson stayed at 1993 levels.
The decrease, High said, reflects increased community involvement in crime prevention.
Community policing - the latest trend in law enforcement - attempts to forge partnerships between citizens and police officers.
Norfolk's program - PACE - was instituted in several neighborhoods in 1991 and was expanded citywide this year.
PACE and its components, such as citizen patrols, block security programs and athletic leagues, have helped deter crime, High said.
The PACE program has been cited in several national studies of community policing because it not only helps police and citizens work together, but also increases cooperation between city agencies - such as housing and health inspections and the sanitation department - to implement programs and act on suggestions given police by citizens. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
STAFF
NORFOLK CRIME RATE DOWN
SOURCE: Norfolk Police Department
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: CRIME NORFOLK STATISTICS by CNB