THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130315
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 77 lines
Neighbors concerned about a temporary home for juvenile offenders opening in the former Norfolk Psychiatric Center seemed relieved Wednesday after a meeting with officials who will run it.
``I was not coming here with the idea that it would sway us, but I think they did,'' said David Benson, who lives nearby and is the treasurer of Riverpoint Civic League. ``They took a very big step in quelling our fears.''
He and others recently found out about the plans to house 36 non-violent juvenile offenders committed to the state's Department of Juvenile Justice at the former psychiatric center near DePaul Medical Center. Soon afterward, he asked to meet with First Corrections Corp. officials.
For about two hours, the officials outlined the program to be called Tidewater Residential Institute and fielded questions from some of the 20 citizens who attended. The residents then went on a tour through the building at Granby Street and Kingsley Lane.
John E. Moore, chief operations officer for First Corrections, started the meeting with an apology for not meeting with neighbors sooner. He said he had not expected concern from neighbors because the building was not going to be used differently than it had been in the past.
``We think we've been a good neighbor since the early '80s here, although we think at that time we had adults and juveniles with more serious problems than the people we're talking about now,'' he said. ``We intend to continue to be a good neighbor.''
Ernie Freeman, Norfolk's director of planning and codes administration, said Wednesday that his office is reviewing the matter, although officials currently believe the building's new use will be permitted.
One of the first questions neighbors asked Wednesday night was which offenses would send youths to the juvenile program. The examples officials provided were: simple assault, vandalism, shoplifting, property damage, joy riding and probation violations.
The facility will house juveniles ages 10 through 18, mostly first offenders, not considered high risk, with a minimal history of assaultive or violent behaviors, no felony assaults and no history of sexual offenses, First Corrections officials said.
Youths will be under lock and key and monitored by a staff of one part-time and three full-time security guards, who will be unarmed.
The facility is scheduled to open in March to serve mostly local youths. The Norfolk site will serve as a temporary location until it can be moved to its permanent location on the Brighton campus of The Pines Residential Treatment Center in Portsmouth in the fall.
Benson and others initially had voiced concerns about the juvenile program, citing recent newspaper stories about The Pines Residential Treatment Center, which is owned by the same parent company as First Corrections.
The Virginian-Pilot recently reported that in 1995, residents - some convicted of serious crimes in other states - ran away from The Pines at the rate of nearly one every five days. Some residents were found with keys to doors that are supposed to keep them in the center, which houses about 265 youths at two Portsmouth locations.
In recent years, at least five residents or former residents of The Pines have been accused of violent crimes in Hampton Roads.
But First Corrections officials explained Wednesday that staff at The Pines is not allowed to physically catch or restrain youths if they run away. In contrast, should a youth run from this program, staff would be expected to chase them and bring them back, they said.
Those youths will be told that violations of the rules mean an automatic additional 12-month sentence and transfer to a juvenile correctional center.
``We are not intending to take them out in the community for any reason except a medical emergency,'' said Trish Weller, the program's interim administrator.
If anyone does run away, First Corrections officials must notify the state Department of Corrections, along with local and state police, they said.
Fred Finley, a retired FBI agent who lives in the Ellsworth area, said he thought citizen concerns about the program had been blown out of proportion.
``I just don't know what all this apprehension and fear is about,'' he said during the meeting. ``We're acting like we're talking about hardened criminals.''
Some of those who attended are taking a wait and see attitude.