DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 1997               TAG: 9703170137

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Public Safety 

SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON AND NAOMI AOKI, STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:  111 lines

OVER 65 - THE GOOD NEWS ....POLICE SAY DOROTHY ALLEN, A VICTIM OF PURSE SNATCHING, AND OTHERS 65 AND OTHER ACTUALLY HAVE LESS REASON TO FEAR CRIME THAN ANY OTHER AGE GROUP.

When she walked out of a Virginia Beach bank clutching her wallet one day in November, little did Dorothy Allen suspect someone would try to snatch it right out of her hands.

But that's just what happened.

``When I came out, I saw this guy sitting on the bench,'' she said. ``All of a sudden, he was right in front of me.

``I screamed just as loud as I could: Oh, no you don't!''

Allen, 68, believes her reaction - screaming and jerking the wallet away from the man - startled him. He ran away.

Police say Allen's actions may have saved her wallet, but if the suspect had had a weapon, he could have hurt or even killed her.

They tell senior citizens and anyone in a similar situation that it's best to give your wallet, car or valuables to a robber. Money and valuables can be replaced, but a life can't.

Though stories like Allen's sometimes show up in police incident reports, police say senior citizens - those 65 and over - have less reason to fear crime than any other age group.

They have even less reason to fear violent crime.

The ages of crime victims in the region were available only in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth. In those cities, victims' ages were reported about two-thirds of the time. But police said the trend is the same across the region: Seniors are more likely to become victims of property crimes such as larcenies, burglary and auto theft than violent crimes.

Police incident reports in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth showed that seniors were 10 times more likely to become victims of larceny than to be murdered, raped, robbed or assaulted in 1996.

Seniors accounted for about 9 percent of the people who live in Hampton Roads, slightly below the state average, based on 1990 census data. But they represent a growing segment of the population.

Nearly 40,000 seniors lived in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth last year. Ten of them reported assaults and three reported being raped.

Across Hampton Roads, of the 122 murder victims last year, only three were 65 or older.

Property crime statistics were more alarming. Seniors in Virginia Beach and Portsmouth reported 596 larcenies last year, ranking larceny the highest of all crimes affecting seniors. The second highest was burglary at 271 reports, followed by auto thefts with 139.

``I think there is a great fear of crime, especially in the inner cities, because they (seniors) hear things going on and they're intimidated,'' said Kathleen Blanchard, assistant program director at Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, formerly SEVAMP.

``To avoid even the beginning of crime, they nail their windows shut and they don't come out.''

It is that decreased exposure to the outside world that keeps seniors safer, she said.

``They don't hang out in nightclubs and get in fist fights and whip out their weapons. A lot of them are not involved in drug dealing,'' she said.

Police said fraud is a major concern of seniors, but only six incidents were reported last year in Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Although senior citizens aren't targeted for most crimes, some do fall prey to fraudulent telephone salesmen who promise them they can get rich quick or demand payment over the phone before services are rendered, police said.

``Older people have generally lost their friends and loved ones by a certain age level,'' said Sgt. Sam Lewis, who heads the Virginia Beach Police Crime Prevention Unit. ``They become very lonely. When someone calls them on the phone . . . and exudes what seems to be interest in them, they are willing to stay on the phone and talk. That is what makes them more vulnerable.''

Participation in crime-watch programs and a heightened interest in crime prevention may help keep senior citizens from being targeted as victims.

``The biggest thing, I think, is awareness. They're learning. That's a big plus for all the police departments,'' said officer Tony Mitchell, of the Norfolk Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit.

To help seniors learn about the tactics of criminals and teach them how to be safe, police officers like Lewis and Mitchell talk to groups, offering tips and strategies.

Folks in Chesapeake who are unsure if their homes are secure can call the department and have an officer do a free home security inspection, said officer Debbie Holmes, of the Chesapeake Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit. Most other police departments in Hampton Roads offer similar programs.

Holmes said when she goes out to talk to groups she arrives a little late and cruises the parking lot like a thief.

``I look to see who left their cars unlocked and who left things in them...and then I tell them what I found,'' she said.

Lewis said he takes a similar approach. His talks are more heart-to-heart chats with the folks he sees.

``In the last generation things have changed. Guns and violence have come along. The senior citizens did not experience that on the way up. My presentation is geared in such a way as to let them in on the reality of things.''

For Dorothy Allen, reality means a greater awareness of who is around her at all times. And she said she won't walk around with her wallet exposed again.

That is the kind of awareness that police are looking for, said Mitchell.

``I would say don't get too comfortable in our society today. You have to constantly be on your toes.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Vicki Cronis/The Virginian-Pilot

Dorothy Allen

Graphic\VP

What are your chances of being a victim?

Violent Crimes, Reported incidents, Property Crimes

Crimes per 10,000 residents

For complete copy, see microfilm

KEYWORDS: CRIME SENIOR CITIZEN VICTIM STATISTICS

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu