THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505070053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
Henry Henson was still police chief four years ago, when the city's crime rate began to slide steadily downward. But, he says, the drop - 22 percent since 1991 and 10.5 percent in 1994 - is not enough to put people at ease.
``They should feel safe to a degree to walk the streets at night without the fear that they're going to be a victim of a crime,'' said Henson, who retired two years ago. ``We've reduced crime 10 and one-half percent, and that's great. But what are we going to do about the other 89 and one-half percent?''
Henson spent a working lifetime talking to Norfolk residents about crime, first as a patrolman and, later, as he rose through the ranks. When he retired, Henson continued this dialogue wherever he could find an audience.
He has an answer for the public's feeling of unease: add 306 officers to Norfolk's 687-member police force. He said the 44.5 percent increase would cost the taxpayers $11.5 million for just the first year.
Most people like part of the plan - more police officers, said Henson, 63. What gives them pause, he admitted, is the cost.
``About all of them agree they'd like to see this,'' he said. ``The only reservation is they don't want their taxes to go up. Some are hesitant.''
The proposal would mean a 10 percent tax-rate increase, city officials said. That would mean a $105 increase on the annual tax bill on an $81,000 home - the average real property assessment in Norfolk.
At the core of Henson's crusade for safer streets are his memories of the Norfolk he knew as a boy.
``I remember as a teenager my friends and I would walk all over Norfolk, even into the late hours at night . . .'' he said recently. ``We didn't think about the possibility of being attacked by someone. I'm sure there was the possibility, but it was not such an overall pervasive fear of crime at that time, and I think people need to be able to feel that way again.''
Now, after watching the city change, Henson - a quiet, conservative man not given to hyperbole - speaks of the peaceful streets of his youth as if it is a war zone.
``If an outside enemy were to attack this country and we were at war, we would use all defenses available to overcome the enemy,'' he said. ``In this case, crime within our borders is the enemy. We're not doing everything we can to overcome it and there's a lot of things that can be done if we're willing to pay.''
Henson and the the Norfolk Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coalition developed the police-reinforcement proposal last November.
``The citizens of our community are doing their part and now want the assistance of a sufficient number of additional police officers to eliminate the fear of crime in any part of the city,'' the proposal said.
Henson said the coalition does not have a target date for enlarging the force. But to gauge citizens' reactions, he, along with coalition president Willie Barnes and vice-president Walter Dickerson, have been talking about the idea at civic league meetings for several months.
James Janata, first vice president of the Norfolk Council of Civic Leagues, said his neighbors would love to have more police officers. But the cost of 306 more officers is stretching too far, he said.
``It's beyond the realm of practical possibilities,'' said Janata, who also heads the East Ocean View Civic League. ``I don't know if simply putting more officers is going to solve some of the problems we have.''
Janata said the city has to look at more activities for young people that would help steer them away from crime.
Another civic league president, Carl Meredith, head of the Lafayette-Winona Civic League, agreed with Henson that beefing up the police force will help decrease crime.
``I think that's very ambitious. It would be beneficial to the existing force and provide less stress, less demand, on a day-to-day basis on any law enforcement officer. It's like their doing double duty today,'' Meredith said.
Those opposed to a tax hike have blown the proposal out of proportion, he said.
``I'm for it and I'd rather see my tax contribution used to enhance the quality of life in Norfolk rather than creating more white elephants that we have to bail out,'' he said, declining to define ``white elephants.''
Meredith said, however, that he thought the chances of budgeting money for so many new officers are slim.
As for reaction from City Hall, Henson said, the response has been vague. Officials like the idea, but are leery of the pricetag, he said.
But George Crawley, an assistant city manager, expressed doubt about the Henson's basic concept that more police officers are the answer. He said there is no formula for how many officers a city should have.
``I often say that if we had the 37,000-some police officers that New York has that you couldn't control some of the problems that occur in communities,'' Crawley said.
The city did ask a law-enforcement think tank in Washington to assess Norfolk's needs. The Police Executive Research Forum came back with a recommendation for 30 more officers, Crawley said. The department's budget for the next fiscal year will be $39.1 million, up from $37.7 million this year, he added.
The city has asked the federal government for two grants to fill 32 new slots in the department. Thirteen of those positions would be held by civilians who would handle duties such as traffic control and desk work. The rest would be police officers.
Henson said he has no formula for determining the city's police needs, but he has compared Norfolk to Charleston, S.C., a city he said is known for lowering its low crime rate. Charleston has 260 officers for a ratio of 3.82 per 1,000 residents, he said. Norfolk, he said, has 2.6 officers per 1,000 citizens.
It's fair way to compare cities, despite the different demographics, Henson said.
But is there a widely-accepted formula for determining how many police officers is enough?
Wolfgang Pindur, a professor at Old Dominion University, says there isn't.
``You certainly can't look at one town and apply that to another city,'' said Pindur, who teaches urban studies and public administration. ``There are too many other variables.''
A department's policing style, budget, deployment and the major crimes that plague that city are factors involved in additional officers' success.
``You can't really make a research connection between officers and crime in that community,'' Pindur said. ``A community could hire five percent more officers yet there be no discernable impact on crime.''
But more police could alter citizens' perceptions of safety in the community, he said.
``It enhances the feeling of safety, but it may or may not lead to crimes being prevented,'' Pindur said.
Henson acknowledges there is no single answer to the crime problem, and he understands why the cost of additional officers can be unpopular. But he also knows from experience, he said, that more officers will help Norfolk reduce crime.
``This goal is something worthwhile whether we get them or not,'' Henson said. ``If we can reach the goal in some other way, that would be great.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Henry Henson
Graphic
JOHN CORBITT/Staff
A LARGER POLICE FORCE - WHAT IT TAKES
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: CRIME NORFOLK NORFOLK POLICE DEPARTMENT by CNB