THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510150079
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
Gov. George F. Allen has produced statistics to support his claim that his initiatives have made Virginia safer.
Speaking at his two-day crime summit one year after he signed legislation abolishing parole - and one day after he boasted of the law's success - Allen said Friday that violent crime during his first 19 months in office fell 6 percent from the previous 19 months.
A Virginia State Police analysis found that robberies fell 8 percent, rapes 13 percent, he said.
``Violent thugs are getting the message: Virginia is not the place to earn a living as a criminal predator, preying on innocent, law-abiding citizens,'' Allen said.
He attributed the decline in violent crime to the longer sentences criminals are serving because of his no-parole and truth-in-sentencing initiatives.
Citing figures from the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, Allen said first-degree murderers now can expect to serve an average of 32 years in prison. In 1993, the average was 10 years. Average sentences have gone from 4.4 years to nearly 12 for rapists, and from four years to eight for armed robbers, he said.
Allen said his parole board's stingy early-release rate has also helped reduce crime. ``In their first year on the job, they cut the rate of parole to just one-fourth what it was in the prior decade,'' he said.
John B. Metzger, chairman of the parole board, said the parole grant rate has averaged about 16 percent. In recent months, the rate ``has been bumping 20 percent,'' he said.
Some Democrats have suggested Allen decided to hold the summit just before the Nov. 7 legislative elections to focus the public's attention on crime - an issue that helped him win election in 1993.
Not true, said Allen, who called it a good time to discuss ideas for the 1996 General Assembly.
``Would you have us doing this January? You have to have a chance for public input and public discussion on this,'' Allen said.
KEYWORDS: CRIME VIRGINIA STATISTICS by CNB