THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 4, 1996 TAG: 9603010020
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
As a graduate student in Norfolk State University's social work program and a counselor who works with troubled youth, I would like to praise the Allen administration for its endorsement to open the state's first boot camp for the nonviolent youth offender. Over the past two years, Governor Allen has focused on harsher punishment for this population. However, this has not addressed the need for prevention or rehabilitation, and the crime rate has continued to rise.
From my experience, what is needed is counseling, consistency, education, caring, a structured environment and after-care, which the juvenile boot camp intends to provide. The program should benefit all Virginians - the taxpayers, our legal system, frustrated parents, potential victims and, most of all, the youth offender who may now have a chance to become a productive adult in society.
DIANE K. BURTON
Virginia Beach, Feb. 3, 1996 by CNB