Category: Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement
-
Three More Proposals to Reduce Gun Violence in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock There was extensive commentary on my post yesterday that recommended expanded use of stop and frisk in an attempt to reduce gun violence. Given the demonstrated interest in the subject, I offer three suggestions that go further. Increase federal prosecutions. Federal laws, penalties, detention hearings and prosecutions are a far more formidable deterrent to…
-
Understaffed Police Departments, Skyrocketing Gun Violence and “Stop and Frisk”
by James C. Sherlock The print edition of The Virginian-Pilot today ran the story we commented on yesterday on the surge in gun violence killing children in Norfolk. The headline in the online version: Nearly a dozen children were shot in July in Norfolk. Communities are hurting, and activists want change. None of the nearly 2,200…
-
Wake Up, People! This Is Me Telling You That the Old Answers Are Not Working!
by James A. Bacon How many children have to be killed, wounded and traumatized before people wake up? Headline from today’s Virginian-Pilot: “Nearly a dozen children have been shot this month in Norfolk. Communities are hurting…” And then it adds this kicker: “and activists want change.” The Virginian-Pilot spoke with elected officials, community organizers, the…
-
Recidivism: The Rest of the Story, Part 2–Explanations for Increase
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A previous post discussed how Virginia’s most recent recidivism rate was an increase over the prior year’s rate. The Department of Corrections (DOC) offers two major possible explanations for the increases in recidivism: more technical violators and more “jail-only” offenders. Technical violators. A recidivist who is a technical violator is someone who has…
-
Recidivism: The Rest of the Story, Part 1 — How Large Is It?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Recently, Governor Northam issued a press release applauding the Department of Corrections’ (DOC) most recent recidivism rate of 23.9% and noting it was one of the lowest in the country. All that is true and is highly commendable, but, as Paul Harvey used to say, “Now, for the rest of the story.”…
-
Is DOJ’s Focus on Healthcare Monopolies Coming to Virginia?
by James C. Sherlock The Acting head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Richard A. Powers, yesterday delivered a speech that described the Justice Department’s new goals, strategies and resources for criminal antitrust enforcement. The clouds have darkened over Virginia’s healthcare monopolies. The Commonwealth. Virginia has failed in its duty to oversee its healthcare industry. The…
-
The Left Acknowledges Virginia’s Violent Crime Spike
by James A. Bacon It’s good to see that our colleagues at The Virginia Mercury understand that Virginia does have a crime problem. As an article by Graham Moomaw acknowledges in the lead paragraph, Virginia’s homicide rate hit a 20-year high in 2020, and violent crimes are trending even higher in some cities this year.…
-
No, Chief, “We” Didn’t Fail Accused Teenaged Killer
by Kerry Dougherty In the early hours of Sunday morning, 47-year-old Glenn B. Kreps was shot to death on A View Street, in Norfolk’s Ocean View. Details about the dead man are scarce. One thing we do know: A 14-year-old has been arrested and charged with his murder. I don’t know about you, but my…
-
Descano Promises More Sunlight for Criminal Justice Data
by James A. Bacon Steve Descano, Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney, plans to begin publishing data on prosecutions as part of his campaign to root out alleged racial and socioeconomic disparities in the county’s criminal justice system, reports The Washington Post. Data to be published online will cover such metrics as race, charging, sentences, bail decisions,…
-
Time to Take the Fentanyl Scourge Seriously
by James A. Bacon Drug dealers are lacing opioids, marijuana and cocaine with fentanyl in the Washington area, reports The Washington Post. The city medical examiner identified the super-addictive and often deadly drug in 95% of the 85 overdose deaths through March this year. Law enforcement authorities are seeing similar increases in fentanyl overdoses in…
-
Virginia Governance in the Finest of Hands: Robert Jeffrey
Roanoke City Councilman Robert Jeffrey, 52, has been indicted by a grand jury on two charges of felony embezzlement. The case arose from a complaint from the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization, an affordable housing organizations, reports The Roanoke Times. The charges did not specify the amount of money or value of property involved, but noted…
-
Even Western Virginia Has Police Shortages
by James A. Bacon Police departments in Virginia’s major urban centers are not the only law enforcement agencies where police officers are quitting in large numbers. Roanoke County in western Virginia saw 28 officers leave during 2020, about one fifth of the department, The Roanoke Times has reported. That was twice the number the department…
-
Don’t Blame Pandemic for Rise in U.S. Violent Crime
by Hans Bader Recent spikes in violent crime aren’t due to COVID-19 or the economy, as suggested recently in a Virginian-Pilot article exploring causes of a spike in violence in Hampton Roads. Murders frequently fall during recessions and times of economic hardship. In the U.S. homicides fell during the 2007-2009 recession. In many other countries, murder rates actually went…
-
Car Crashes Down, Fatalities Up in 2020
by James A. Bacon Virginia transportation officials are puzzling over a divergence in road safety statistics during the COVID epidemic last year. The number of crashes on Virginia roads fell 15% to 20% below the level of a normal year while the number of fatalities climbed by 2.4% and serious injuries by 5.3%, reports The…
-
Virginia’s Parole Board Squirts WD-40 on That Revolving Door
by Kerry Dougherty Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A guy commits murder and is sent to prison for decades. Like everyone else in the pen he insists he’s innocent. Finally, a gullible, soft-on-crime parole board buys his sob story and turns him loose on society. Next thing you know the ex-con’s committed…