Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 4, 1990 TAG: 9004040815
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Valleywide crime decreased by 6 percent in 1989, with Salem the only locality to report an increase from the year before, according to the Uniform Crime Reports, a statewide measuring stick of criminal activity compiled by the FBI and state police.
With the recent influx of crack into the community, some officials had predicted a rise in crimes such as burglary and larceny.
The theory went that desperate drug addicts would steal to support their habits, especially if a large number of drug arrests dried up the supply and drove up prices.
But the opposite has happened, Roanoke Police Chief M. David Hooper said.
With more than 300 people arrested in Operation Caribbean Sunset - a state, local and federal offensive aimed at eradicating crack from Roanoke - other crimes have also felt the crunch.
That is because many of the people who deal drugs are also burglars and thieves, Hooper said. "Many of these people are very prolific," he said.
Roanoke, Roanoke County and Vinton all reported decreases in the number of major crimes reported in 1989, as compared with the year before. Reports were broken down into seven categories: homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and automobile theft.
Major crimes reported in Roanoke dropped from 8,362 in 1988 to 7,823 in 1989, a decrease of 6.8 percent. Burglaries and larcenies were down, while the number of robberies rose from 186 in 1988 to 219 in 1989.
Part of the reason for the decrease in larcenies and burglaries is due to the large number of people in jail on drug charges, Hooper said.
Another reason could be that police were more visible in the community last year as they conducted organized drug raids throughout the city, he said. Criminals committed fewer crimes as a result, and citizens seemed more willing to report them.
Although there were fewer arrests in 1989, police received more requests to investigate reports, an increase that Hooper said could also be attributed to the department's increased public presence.
Last year's drop in crime reversed a local pattern of gradual increases in recent years. But law enforcement officials described the drop as more of a year-to-year fluctuation than a sign of things to come.
"It's too early to tell" if the decrease will continue over the long term, Hooper said. Crime has continued to decrease in the early months of 1990, he said.
Even though Hooper calls the drug problem "the most serious criminal phenomena" facing Roanoke, drug offenses are not included in the crimes compiled by the Uniform Crime Reports.
The reports, which are submitted to state police by every locality in the state, are compiled to help authorities evaluate levels of criminal activity.
At the same time crime was dropping in the Roanoke Valley, national crime totals rose by 3 percent. Across the state, crime increased in 1989 in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Automobile thefts in Roanoke jumped from 230 in 1988 to 322 last year. Police attributed that to several possible factors - a rash of car thefts from rental agencies last year and carelessness by owners who too often leave the keys in their cars.
Although Roanoke accounts for about half of the Roanoke Valley's population, approximately three-fourths of the crimes reported in the valley during 1989 happened within city limits.
That is nothing new. Authorities point out that the city streets and clusters of apartments and housing projects of Roanoke are a more natural breeding ground for crime than the suburbs and rural settings of Roanoke County, Salem and Vinton.
However, Salem was the only valley locality to report an increase in crime last year. The total number of reported offenses in Salem rose from 954 in 1988 to 1,041 in 1989.
But Salem Police Lt. Russell Gwaltney interpreted the increase as more of an annual fluctuation - influenced in part by the actions of a major theft ring - than an alarming trend.
The highest increases in Salem were in burglaries and larcenies, Gwaltney said. The reason was drugs. "It seems like more and more of the stolen items are being traded off for dope," he said.
Gwaltney noted that the increase in 1989 does not apply to violent crimes against people, such as murder and rape.
"All of them are important, but if you can decrease or hold your own with crimes against persons, . . . that's more important than the increase in property crimes," Gwaltney said.
by CNB