Westlock is by most measures a pretty safe community. Unfortunately, all it takes if a single break-in or act of vandalism to shatter that illusion of security.
These past couple weeks, there have been a series of notable acts of vandalism and theft from downtown businesses, and it has the owners understandably upset.
After all, nobody likes to think their personal space has been violated, and nobody likes to deal with the paperwork and other hassles associated with insurance claims.
We must understand, however, that police do what they can to prevent this type of thing from happening but, as Cpl. Sandra Milner said, they can’t cover every square inch of the county all the time. Crime, including break-ins and thefts, is unfortunately inevitable.
Furthermore, a lot of the work that police do is essentially invisible to the public. Whether it’s dealing with behind-the-scenes paperwork, or dealing with crimes that by their nature can’t be publicized, the police are working. If you ask any officer, they’re likely to tell you there is more to do than there are hours to do it in.
Hence, the need for citizens to pick up a bit of the slack, and ensure they phone the police when they see that something is amiss. This is not to suggest that any form of vigilantism is acceptable.
When citizens begin to take the law into their own hands, it sets a dangerous precedent where anyone with a weapon and a will to use it can dole out punishment. As flawed as our justice system is, it’s much preferable to that kind of vigilante’s free-for-all.
Rather, citizens who feel that reporting crimes they witness, or joining the local Citizens on Patrol group isn’t enough should consider if they can do more to address the root of the problem.
For example, many property crimes can often be attributed to substance abuse issues, whereby criminals need some quick money for illegal drugs.
Or perhaps somebody living in abject poverty feels they need to steal to get out of their situation.
Instead of addressing the symptoms of these issues — the crimes themselves — we should ask ourselves how we can address some of the root causes of crime in our society.
