THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270633
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 136 lines
Police Chief Dennis A. Mook blames the Virginia criminal justice system for his department's inability to stem a tide of homicides and other violent crimes.
``The vast majority of persons we arrest are immediately released on bond, or quickly win a bond reduction, and return to the streets to commit additional crimes, go after witnesses, and continue their illegal activities,'' Mook said in a report presented to the City Council on Monday night. ``The state system has failed the citizens of Portsmouth.''
This failed system, Mook said, makes the few criminals who commit the vast majority of Portsmouth's serious felonies ``feel there is no consequence to their illegal acts.''
Mook told the council that decent citizens are terrorized or bribed by criminals, severely inhibiting police efforts to get cooperation in solving violent crimes.
``Victims, witnesses, and their families are being intimidated, shot, and paid off to keep them out of court and providing testimony,'' Mook said.
The city has been forced, Mook said, to seek the help of the FBI ``to assist in identifying those violent crimes that meet federal guidelines so as to use the power of the federal system to assist us in getting some of these violent criminals off the streets.''
Mook delivered his report during a work session after council members asked him to explain why the city suffered a string of murders during August and September. Eight people have been killed since the first week of August, pushing the city's homicide total to 27. That's four more than were killed in all of 1994.
But Mook showed in his report that the 1994 total was a decrease from 1993 and that several other times during the past 20 years there have been yearly totals that surpassed this year's figure.
It's all part of an unexplained fluctuation in the number of Portsmouth murders, Mook said.
``We do not have an explanation for these fluctuations, but they do occur with regularity,'' the report said.
About half the 27 murders in 1995 were drug-related, and 85 percent were committed by blacks against other blacks, Mook reported.
Also, of the 16 homicide suspects arrested so far, all but four had previous criminal records.
``The police department has done a credible job in taking many violent criminals off the street only to be released to commit additional violent crimes,'' Mook said. ``If many of the suspects had been incarcerated, they wouldn't have been able to commit the current homicide.''
Even though the overall crime rate, which includes such non-violent offenses as burglary, motor theft and arson, has declined in Portsmouth for four years, violent crime has remained stubbornly persistent despite numerous police efforts. The report lists more than a dozen initiatives that have been tried during Mook's 18-month tenure as chief, ranging from a robbery task force to increased crime analysis.
``None of these measures have worked well because the system doesn't provide support for our efforts,'' the report said. As an example of how the justice system works against police efforts, the report cited the fact that only two of 70 people arrested during the robbery task force are still in custody.
Mook said the department will shift gears by implementing a new strategy constructed around the city's community policing program, which is called the Neighborhood Enhancement and Action Team Program (N.E.A.T).
The police chief also unveiled an eight-step plan to improve crime-fighting efforts in the city, including a special grand jury and the reinforcement of the homicide and robbery squads.
But Mook warned the council that there is a stiff price for increasing efforts to fight violence. He said he now has 210 officers available to fight crime in the city.
``Other programs will be cut back or eliminated in the short run,'' said Mook, citing Portsmouth's low number of police officers per capita. ``We do not have the personnel to put into special efforts without taking them from other programs.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Dennis A. Mook
Graphics
PORTSMOUTH POLICE CHIEF DENNIS A. MOOK'S PLAN TO FIGHT VIOLENT
CRIME
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
WHAT THE POLICE CHIEF SAID:
PORTSMOUTH - Here are excerpts from Police Chief Dennis A. Mook's
report on violent crime in Portsmouth:
Witnesses are refusing to testify as to what they have seen and
heard. They tell us they are scared for their own safety and for the
safety of their families. They have been part of the system before
and experienced retaliation. Victims, witnesses and their families
are being intimidated, shot and paid off to keep them out of court
and providing testimony. Additionally, the vast majority of persons
we arrest are immediately released on bond, or quickly win a bond
reduction, and return to the streets to commit additional crimes, go
after witnesses and continue their illegal activities. The state
system has failed the citizens of Portsmouth.''
In Portsmouth, as in other localities, the majority of criminal
acts are committed by a few. However, that number is growing because
in part, and in my judgment, criminals feel there is no consequence
to their illegal acts. As a result of the failure of the state
system, I had asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist in
identifying those violent crimes that meet federal guidelines so as
to use the power of the federal system to assist us in getting some
of these violent criminals off the streets.''
It seems that jurisdictions around the country have found that
endlessly pouring law enforcement resources alone into the crime
problem is not the answer. For example, we have spent more time and
effort in apprehension and prevention in public housing than in any
other sector of the city during the last eight or nine years. We
have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in officer overtime,
special programs and joint efforts. This doesn't seem to have made a
major difference in the amount of crime occurring there. The answer,
to a large part, must come from within the community itself.''
The Portsmouth Police Department is switching gears to actively
get the community involved in problem-solving in the neighborhoods.
This community policing effort has produced positive results in
other localities, and has a good chance of making a positive
difference here. The Neighborhood Enhancement and Action Team
Program (N.E.A.T.) is a comprehensive program that divides the city
into nine geographical areas with teams of officers in each area.
These teams of officers will work closely with the residents in
their assigned neighborhoods to identify, prioritize and attempt to
solve quality of life problems. Within 18 months, every citizen and
business owner should know the names of officers who they can call
directly to assist in problem solving. These officers will also act
as mentors and role models for the children of their assigned
areas.''
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT CRIME PORTSMOUTH
by CNB