RICHMOND, Va. -- Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) unveiled Operation Bold Blue Line on Monday.
His plan to combat violent crime in Virginia includes:
- Increasing police officer pay
- Recruiting more police officers
- Hiring more prosecutors
- Supporting witnesses and victims of crime and community programs
"This surge in violent crime is a crisis everywhere. But it is an absolute nightmare in many communities around the Commonwealth of Virginia," Governor Youngkin said about the state he leads.
While many people agree more must be done to fight crime, the leaders of some Virginia groups have come out against parts of the plan.
"I am not optimistic, even a little bit, about where this is going," Brad Haywood, with Justice Forward Virginia, said.
Chief among Haywood's concerns is that the task forces that met to guide the governor's plan were made up of mostly those from law enforcement.
"It's been totally exclusive of people in the criminal justice reform community," he said.
Haywood said the plan puts too much focus on prosecution and not enough on prevention.
The additional prosecutors the state hopes to hire will be a part of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares' Operation Ceasefire.
"[We will] hire more prosecutors that are willing and able to put violent offenders behind bars and keep them there," Youngkin said.
Haywood said programs like Operation Ceasefire could be effective if used properly. He said the program should be community-led and not law enforcement-led.
"They will have people who are from that community, maybe who were even involved in sort of street life, or who were involved in the criminal legal system working as like outreach workers as mentors," Haywood suggested.
In response, Attorney General Miyares said his office planned to use a holistic approach that would encompass both aspects as both are needed.
"We're going to have a variety of intervention services aimed at our young people," Miyares said. "But those that have crossed that line, that have now committed violent acts against fellow Virginians, that are repeat violent offenders, then absolutely prosecution is an important component."
The President of the Virginia State Conference NAACP reiterated the prevention concerns and said the push for more officers could lead to bad hires.
He also questioned why the governor's crime-fighting plan did not discuss state gun laws.
"Until we address our gun laws, and gun safety measures, these incidents involving guns are going to continually happen," Robert Barnette, President of the Virginia State Conference NAACP, said.
Miyares countered by saying gun violence has gone up, despite gun control laws passed by Democrats.
He also said new law enforcement hires would improve overall morale.
"You can have good training for good police officers, you can have a fully-staffed police force that has good community communications, and relationships," he said.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
