University of Virginia Library

Finances Sought
To Battle Crime

A special program is being
co-ordinated at the University assist
various localities in Virginia in
seeking federal funds to improve
crime prevention and law enforcement.

Two faculty members of the
School of Education, Ronald J.
Perry, northern coordinator of the
Higher Education Law Enforcement
Advisory Committee, and
Jack Gallagher, state coordinator
of the advisory committee, head
this program which covers an area
of 23 counties and 14 cities.

The program is to help localities
desiring to receive a portion of the
State's share of a federal grant
under the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968.

"Most states involved in this
program allocated their grants to
their attorney general's office to be
administered through traditional
law enforcement channels," Mr.
Gallagher said. "To secure maximum
participation of local
communities, Virginia is allocating
its planning funds through the Law
Enforcement Planning Council directly
to local communities," he
continued. This plan, according to
Mr. Gallagher, "will lead to more
community involvement (and) draw
on the thinking and research of the
University on law enforcement
problems."

Representatives from the University,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute,
Virginia Commonwealth
University, and Old Dominion College
make up the law enforcement
advisory committee. Each institution
is assigned responsibility for a
geographic region in which it will
assist localities under terms of their
grants.

The University is responsible for
the counties of: Albemarle,
Amherst, Appomattox, Arlington,
Bedford, Campbell, Clarke, Culpeper,
Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick,
Fluvanna, Greene, Loudoun,
Lousia, Madison, Nelson, Orange,
Page, Prince William, Rappahannock,
Shenandoah, and Warren.
Cities and towns included are:
Alexandria, Bedford, Charlottesville,
Fairfax, Falls Church,
Lynchburg, Winchester, Front
Royal, Herndon, Leesburg, Luray,
Manassas, Vienna, and Warrenton.

As northern regional coordinator,
Mr. Perry is to gather all
available resources at the University
and other institutions in the region
to help local governments plan their
action programs. Mr. Perry is also in
the process of identifying persons
in the area who are experts in law
enforcement. He hopes to form
these experts into teams, who on
the request of a locality, will help
formulate the community's action
plan. In addition, the advisory
committee plans to hold two law
enforcement seminars before May 1
to air particular problems of law
enforcement.