
DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710030686

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NAOMI AOKI, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  109 lines

JUVENILE CRIME RATE PLUMMETS MANY CREDIT TOUGHER PUNISHMENT, GET-TOUGH-ON-CRIME INITIATIVES

The number of juveniles arrested for violent crimes plunged 19 percent in South Hampton Roads in 1996, outpacing a 9 percent drop nationwide that prompted Attorney General Janet Reno to say Americans ``are making real progress in fighting youth crime.''

It was the first significant drop in juvenile crime in Hampton Roads this decade and the second year in a row the numbers have fallen nationally after seven years of increasing juvenile crime.

Locally, a dramatic decline in robberies was largely responsible for the overall drop. But the encouraging numbers were tempered by this sobering fact: juvenile murder arrests in the five South Hampton Roads cities soared from 13 in 1995 to 30 last year. In Norfolk alone, 20 juveniles were arrested for murder last year.

Local prosecutors credit a variety of get-tough-on-crime initiatives with the overall decrease, including a 1996 state juvenile reform law under which youths are automatically tried as adults for murder, rape and maiming.

``Kids now know that if they commit these kinds of crimes they are going to prison,'' said Lisa McKeel, who prosecuted violent juvenile offenders in Norfolk until she became director of the state Department of Criminal Justice Services in July.

The last time McKeel toured a juvenile detention center, she said, she saw newspaper articles about high-profile teen murder cases posted on a bulletin board.

``They all told the same story, and the story is that all these guys got life in prison,'' she said.

Reno cited a combination of factors for the national decline.

``The president's crime plan has provided more money and tougher laws,'' she said. ``And communities across America and their police, their prosecutors, mentors in the community and young people themselves are working harder than ever to keep young people on the right track, to give them opportunity and to provide punishment and intervention when they stray.''

Nationally, arrests of teen-agers for murder dropped 11 percent in 1996, the third straight annual decline after a 169 percent increase between 1984 and 1993, when the juvenile murder rate peaked.

But locally, youths were arrested for murder in greater numbers than ever before - more than double the 1995 total. In Norfolk, the number soared from 7 in 1995 to 20 last year.

In some cases, several juveniles were arrested for a single murder:

In July 1996, three teen-agers and two adults were arrested for a savage attack and robbery in Ocean View that left one man dead and another seriously injured. One of the teens was 15 and two were 16.

In August 1996, three teens were arrested for robbing and killing a 54-year-old man in Ocean View. One of the teens was 15 and two were 17.

``These kids who are committing murder are kids who lack morality or conscience,'' McKeel said. ``They were looking at a more lenient system as they were growing up. In the early '90s, kids used to say to me, `You can't do anything to me. I'm a juvenile.' That was the mentality before.''

McKeel said that as of July 1997, the number of youths arrested for murder in Norfolk had dropped significantly. That decrease, she said, shows that the tougher laws are beginning to have an impact even on the most violent youths.

In Portsmouth, where the number of juveniles arrested for violent crimes dropped from 71 in 1995 to 47 last year, Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock credited local crime initiatives, community involvement and the tougher state laws.

``The police can't do it all, and my office can't do it,'' he said. ``But when we come together with the community, good things happen.''

Bullock said two initiatives aimed at all violent offenders, not just juveniles, seem to taking their toll on criminals.

Since the beginning of 1996, police have pushed to make arrests within five days of a violent crime. Once suspects are in custody, prosecutors argue for no bond or high bonds to prevent them from getting back on the street, he said.

The second factor, he said, was a citywide initiative targeting robberies. The city's most dramatic drop was in the number of juveniles arrested for robbery - from 50 in 1995 to 21 in 1996.

``Clearly we're extremely pleased with those developments and we want to keep them going,'' Bullock said. ``But we still realize we have a lot of work to do.''

On Thursday, Reno called on Congress to allocate more money for after-school programs to make the drop in youth crime stick. The Republicans who control Congress are writing bills that focus on trying more teen-agers as adults.

Based on a recent study of after-school programs in Massachusetts, Jack Levin, a professor who directs the Program for the Study of Violence at Northeastern University in Boston, endorsed Reno's call for more resources.

``The prime time for teen-age crime is between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. after school is out but before parents get home from work,'' he said.

Over 90 percent of 64 urban high schools and middle schools he studied had intramural athletic, art, drama, music and student government programs after school. But, Levin said, virtually all charged fees and the students who need the programs most can't afford them.

``We still continue to hear of too many serious violent crimes committed by young people,'' Reno said. ``We cannot be satisfied by this reduction in youth violence.'' MEMO: The Associated Press and staff writer Larry W. Brown contributed

to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

JOHN EARLE/The Virginian-Pilot

JUVENILE NON-VIOLENT CRIME IN SOUTH HAMPTON ROADS

SOURCE: Virginia State Police

JUVENILE VIOLENT CRIME

SOURCE: Virginia State Police

[For complete graphics, please see microfilm] KEYWORDS: STATISTICS CRIME YOUTH

JUVENILE