CERTAIN AREAS AFFECTED MORE BY VIOLENT CRIMES

When it comes to violent crimes and drug activity, numbers compiled by the
Beckley Police Department indicate quite a fluctuation over the past five
years. They are not among the most prevalent offenses within the city
limits, but statistics indicate particular areas are more affected than
others, something of which citizens may not be aware.

Regardless of the number of officers on duty, victims' calls always take
precedent over road patrol, Capt. Bill Kelly said. Ironically, he added, it
is when officers are on road patrol that most drug arrests are made.

Kelly said the majority of drug arrests occur during routine traffic stops
when officers smell marijuana or detect suspicious behavior. Therefore, the
highly trafficked areas tend to depict more drug arrests. Yet in some
cases, drug arrests occur when someone reports suspicious transactions in
his or her neighborhood.

Reports indicate 1998 and 1999 were the top years for crack cocaine
offenses in the city. But those numbers dropped significantly to 68 in
2000, then to 27 in 2001. Marijuana violations remained consistent from
1998 to 2000, and dropped in 2001. The numbers reported by Beckley PD do
not include the drug arrests made by the TRIDENT task force, whose
investigations are separate.

Drug offenses most always occur because traffic enforcement is high, Kelly
continued. From a patrol standpoint, officers engage in proactive efforts.
If the number of drug violations drops, it is because officers are
answering calls - a priority in the department - rather than patrolling.

"Murders are a unique crime in that there is no way to prevent a murder,"
Kelly said. He said murders are usually "committed on the spur of the
moment" and by someone the victim knows.

With officers responding to so many domestic calls, it's hard to tell how
many murders the department has prevented, he noted.

"The fact we didn't have any (murders) last year really speaks well of
that, I think," the captain said.

Domestic incidents and alcohol are behind most assaults and malicious
woundings, he said.