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A new strategy
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Published: November 16, 2008
Interim Statesville Police Chief Tom Anderson is onto something.
After spending time with his counterparts in High Point, Anderson is proposing a community-wide approach to combating the recent increase in robberies and property crime.
In High Point, representatives of the community meet with offenders who are at risk for becoming career criminals and warn them about the consequences of continuing down the wrong path.
Community agencies also offer resources to help these offenders make a break from gangs and other bad influences.
This approach makes sense.
The threat of long-term incarceration does not appear to be deterring the element in our community that, for whatever reason, has decided it's easier to prey on others than it is to get a job and be a productive member of society.
Our criminal justice system has proven time and time again that it is not in the rehabilitation business.
Throwing offenders in prison may offer some short-term relief and protection for law-abiding citizens, but the vast majority of convicts are eventually released back into society. Many re-offend.
To break this cycle, education, job training, substance abuse and mental health treatment have to be part of the equation.
We challenge elected officials in Statesville, Mooresville, Troutman and Iredell County to embrace this initiative and make it a priority in the coming months.
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