Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991 TAG: 9103050466
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"We can't sit back and let this continue," he said in asking City Manager Robert Herbert for a report on the issue.
Fitzpatrick suggested that Herbert study the possibility of establishing a police precinct station in the high-crime area in Northwest Roanoke as one way to reduce the violence. He asked the city manager for recommendations on what, if anything, the city can do to deal with the problem.
"I don't know what the solution is, but I feel a sense of responsibility that we need to try to address this," he said.
Fitzpatrick referred to a story in Sunday's Roanoke Times & World-News about the black-on-black crime, saying he was appalled at reports of the "carnage" and the statistics on violence.
In the past two years, 23 of the 27 murder victims in the city were black. Twenty-two of the known or suspected perpetrators were black.
Community leaders, law enforcement officials, educators, black businessmen and others say the reasons behind the problem lie in a mix of socioeconomic conditions, poverty, demographics, drug abuse and racial discrimination.
Police say one-third of the murders in the past two years were drug-related, and drug or alcohol use played a role in at least another third of the homicides.
Fitzpatrick said that if he lived in the Lincoln Terrace or Lansdowne Park housing projects or other neighborhoods in Northwest Roanoke, he would think city officials ought to be concerned about the violence.
The councilman said he wants the city manager to determine whether a more visible police presence in the housing projects and other high-crime areas might help curb crime.
"I am not sure whether a police precinct might help, but I think we need to look at that," Fitzpatrick said. "I want to know if there is anything we can do."
After the meeting, Herbert said city officials have been concerned about the problem and have discussed it with a community relations specialist with the U.S. Justice Department.
He said city officials also have talked with the city's Redevelopment and Housing Authority about stepped-up security in the housing projects, where three homicides occurred in the past year. One possibility under discussion would permit city police officers to have a place at housing projects where they could stop, complete their written reports and meet with residents.
"We are working with the housing authority routinely on security and a number of issues but, how this might be done, we don't yet know the answer," Herbert said.
The city manager said there are several ways to try to improve police-community relations and give police a more visible presence without necessarily establishing a precinct station.
by CNB