
DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997               TAG: 9704220532

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: PUBLIC SAFETY

SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  114 lines

TURNING CRIME AROUND POLICE, BIKE PATROLS MAKE DIFFERENCE IN SOME NORFOLK PUBLIC HOUSING

The real barometer of a dip in crime in public housing is not numbers, officials or news reports, says Norfolk police Officer Rick James.

``The litmus test is when residents tell me, `I see the change,' '' said James, who has been assigned full time to Diggs Town since the fall of 1995. ``Now, that's what I'm getting.''

The residents' comments reflect what the numbers have shown. Last year, the violent crime rate fell 17 percent in Norfolk's eight public housing communities, an analysis of police data shows. There were 35 fewer murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.

The drop follows a 10 percent jump in crime in 1995. The 1995 increase was the first rise in violent crime in Norfolk's public housing since 1991. Last year's drop also outpaces the citywide drop - 2.6 percent - in violent crime.

In 1995, there were 203 reports of violent crimes in public housing. In 1996, that number fell to 168. Residents and housing officials say the drop indicates progress toward solving a persistent problem.

``The playgrounds were ruled by drug dealers. . . ,'' James said. ``The kids were not able to go into playgrounds. Now they are.''

From 1995 to 1996, in public housing:

Murders fell from five to four.

Rapes fell from 12 to eight.

Robberies fell from 82 to 53.

Aggravated assaults fell from 104 to 103.

What's driving the decline? And what can residents hope to see in the future? Housing officials point to several factors.

Ray Strutton, an official with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, credited initiatives by the city, such as placing officers like James in the neighborhoods.

Another deterrent Strutton cited is police on bicycle patrols.

In 1996, officers on bikes seized more than $47,000 in drugs from the neighborhoods, the bulk of it in Moton Circle/Roberts Village area, an NRHA report stated. They also made 65 felony and 98 misdemeanor arrests.

Tidewater Gardens, Oakleaf Forest and Young Terrace boasted the biggest drops last year. Tidewater's violent crime rate dipped from 21.6 per 1,000 residents to 13, Oakleaf's rate dropped from 23 to 13 and Young's from 15.9 to 8.8, the analysis showed.

James, a Norfolk native who has been on the force 12 years, said the promising numbers mean residents can enjoy the outdoors and have more pride in their community.

In Diggs Town, violent crime fell 27 percent. There were no murders there last year. There were two in 1995. And robberies fell from 10 to one. Rapes increased from one to two and aggravated assaults rose from nine to 13.

While other officers routinely patrol the streets there, James' job keeps him there full time. The Police Department, as part of the ongoing PACE - Police Assisted Community Enforcement - programs, have assigned an officer to each of the housing communities.

The familiarity factor, having one person on hand much of the time, has helped, James said.

``I'm part of the community now. I have pride in the community, too. After working in one community, it becomes personal. You know the neighbors. They ask to borrow sugar.''

The community, he said, is working to help fight crime. One example of residents' empowerment has been the creation of the tenant patrols in Tidewater Gardens and Young Terrace.

Ursula Banks, president of the Tidewater Gardens Tenant Management Corp., is one of 15 tenants who patrol there. Crime, she said, has plummeted. Even so far this year, she said, she has seen a change. The patrols, which began in March, work the streets every school day in an effort to keep children safe as they walk to and from school.

Crime has ``gone down since we have been out with the patrols,'' said Banks, who has lived there three years. ``It has come a long way. . . ''

Arlene Barber, president of the Tenant Management Corp. in Diggs Town, said the community has always rallied to fight crime and drugs, and now some of the results are being seen.

``We have always been a close community, helping one another,'' she said. ``It was just that there were families, who. . . allowed the drugs to be served from their homes. They didn't know they were killing our children.''

Barber credited some of the positive change to James: ``He has done an excellent job.''

NRHA's decision to add fences and porches, and to return to stricter rules about cleanliness, have prompted residents to have more pride in their homes, she said.

James agreed that the solution to crime lies in the residents banding together, like in Diggs Town.

``When you go through the communities you see a cleaner community and the kids out,'' James said. ``It's wonderful. It really is.''

Though violent crime fell overall in public housing, three neighborhoods - Bowling Green, Roberts Village and Calvert Terrace - saw increases last year, driven largely by aggravated assaults. Officials had no explanation for why crime rose in some neighborhoods while it fell in others.

Despite a 23 percent drop in violent crimes last year, Grandy Village still had the highest crime rate among the neighborhoods. Grandy's rate of 27 per 1,000 residents is almost three times the citywide rate.

Grandy's high rate mirrors a problem that persists among the more than 10,000 residents of public housing: Despite the encouraging numbers, the crime rate in public housing neighborhoods continues to be higher than in the city overall.

In 1996, there were about 17 murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults per 1,000 public housing residents. That compares with about 10 per 1,000 residents throughout the city. MEMO: Staff writer Naomi Aoki contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

Officer Rick James

Graphic

MICHAEL HALL/The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK PUBLIC HOUSING VIOLENT CRIME RATES/ A DECLINE IN VIOLENT

CRIME

SOURCE: Analysis of police reports

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] KEYWORDS: CRIME VIOLENCE NORFOLK

STATISTICS