THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604260492
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Decision '96
Part 2: The Issues: Portsmouth Candidates
SOURCE: JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
For the second consecutive year, violent crime fell in 1995 in South Hampton Roads. In some cities the drop was small to the point of insignificance. In others the drop was large.
Portsmouth was the exception. Violent crime hit a record high, fueled by the largest number of homicides, 37, ever recorded in the city during a 12-month period.
The record-setting violence fueled a citywide debate. Major changes resulted in the Police Department, the Circuit Court Clerk's office and in the state law that determines how criminals are bonded out of jail.
The FBI got involved, moving some of the toughest cases and most violent felons into federal court, where judges are strict and there is no parole.
Today, officials say, the city of Portsmouth is safer than it was a year ago. More dangerous criminals are in jail. Fewer violent offenses are being committed.
The number of police officers has increased, and an innovative community policing program is well under way.
Both police initiatives are being bolstered by a huge volunteer effort. On one cold Saturday afternoon last year, more than 400 people turned up at a Portsmouth middle school to brainstorm crime-solving ideas. And Portsmouth now boasts 51 neighborhood watches.
But the perception remains that Portsmouth is a dangerous place. That makes public safety central to the city's future. It is seen as the key to economic development, and, therefore, is a hot-button election issue.
``We have made a lot of improvements,'' says Mayor Gloria Webb, the 63-year-old mayoral veteran who is running for re-election after eight years in the city's top job. ``But I still look at it cautiously. We have to make sure we get the word out that Portsmouth is not the place to do drug trafficking and violence.''
``We need to do whatever is necessary to correct the problem,'' says one of Webb's two opponents, 75-year-old Frank A. Harte. ``I don't care how much it costs, even if it costs every dime we've got. That's how important it is.''
All three candidates for mayor give high marks to Police Chief Dennis A. Mook, especially for his community policing program, which eventually will have more than 20 officers working closely with nine neighborhoods.
There is concern, however, that community policing won't be enough. James W. Holley III, the former mayor and City Council member who is running for mayor this year, says the police force simply has to be larger.
``The complement that we have at this time was possibly adequate in other times, but crime has escalated to a considerable degree,'' says Holley, 69, who was ousted from the mayor's office in a hate-mail scandal nine years ago.
Holley was elected mayor in 1984 after more than a decade on City Council, but voters forced him out of office in December 1987 in a recall election after he was implicated - though never charged - in the mailing of a series of threatening letters to black leaders who opposed closing I.C. Norcom High School. Holley has maintained his innocence.
``Crime in this city is no longer mainly petty,'' Holley says. ``It has become a killing field. In order to offset that, the chief needs more people.''
Holley says traditional funding methods are unlikely to work. Instead, he believes the business community needs to get involved directly in funding law enforcement.
``We need a coming together of the business community and the municipality,'' Holley says. ``We need to set aside the resources to get the complement of police officers to the point where we can really combat crime.''
Holley also suggests that churches and ministers take a direct role in funding more law enforcement.
Some think economic efforts can make a difference. City Council candidate James Thomas Benn thinks redevelopment will go a long way toward enhancing Portsmouth's image as a good place for business and families, as well as making it a safer city. Benn, 56, cites the decision to tear down the River Edge Apartments and replace them with single-family homes as an example of how redevelopment can help fight crime.
The same needs to be done in other areas, he says. The low-income housing complex of Fairwood Homes is ``a cancer that has to be cut out.''
City Council incumbent Bernard D. Griffin sees economic development as the answer to, rather than the reward for, controlling crime.
``Creating jobs will keep the young people from wandering up and down the streets with nothing to do,'' says Griffin, 57. From there, efforts have to continue to involve the entire community if fighting the city's crime problem is to be successful, Griffin says.
``If we cannot involve the whole community, it is going to be difficult to reduce overall crime, and especially violent crime.''
Federal involvement in Portsmouth's problem has given the average citizen faith that victory in fighting crime is possible, says Cameron C. Pitts, a 59-year-old City Council incumbent who is running for a second term. ``The FBI drug-busters are a key to solving this dilemma.''
The FBI already has put the River Edge drug gang out of business. All seven members have pleaded guilty or were convicted. They face long terms in federal prison.
Other prosecutions of drug-gang leaders and their violent followers are expected. Local prosecutors just recently decided not to prosecute drug conspiracy charges against one man, Nathaniel Richardson, so federal prosecutors could take over the case.
The state also has pitched in. An investigator with the state Supreme Court has started an audit of the city's Circuit Court Clerk's office. Already the office has been reorganized, and much of the court's large backlog of cases - the heftiest in the state - has been attributed to office mismanagement.
To help keep the problem from recurring, a computer system that connects the clerk to the courtrooms has been installed, to create greater efficiency and reduce paperwork.
Police Chief Mook and Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock have proposed their own set of reforms. They pledge to charge homicide suspects within 72 hours of a murder, arrest homicide suspects within five days and to complete homicide trials within five months of arrests.
Bullock and Mook also promise to seek higher bail bonds, develop separate homicide and robbery units, continue joint initiatives with federal agencies, better inform City Council and make better use of Crime Line and television.
James C. Hawks, another incumbent with eight years on the City Council, credits Del. Billy Moore's bill, passed this year, for helping Portsmouth get a grip on crime. The law makes it more difficult for convicted felons to get out of jail on bond when charged with second offenses.
``It is a genuine, bona fide tool,'' says Hawks, a 49-year-old lawyer. ``Billy's legislation is going to help judges be stricter about who they let out on bond. I'm sure it is a tool they will welcome.''
But as last year's crime statistics indicate, the challenge is daunting. The next few years will be crucial if Portsmouth is to revamp its image and cease being, statistically anyway, the region's most violent city.
The stakes could not be higher, Pitts says.
``It is going to be the salvation of the city or the destruction.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Change in Violent Crime Rate
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KEYWORDS: PUBLIC JOURNALISM COMMUNITY CONVERSATION PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD
CANDIDATE PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL RACE < ELECTION by CNB