In today’s newspaper you will find a story regarding &uot;Crime Stoppers.&uot;

This is a program designed to help eliminate crime from the streets of Selma and Dallas County.

Billy Atchison took what was being done in Mobile and Birmingham and has given this vision to the Centre of Commerce.

The Centre and its board members and employees have been instrumental, along with a board that was put together for Crime Stoppers, in getting this program going.

Crime Stoppers is an organization that controls a 1-800 number that is used for anonymity for those who know about a crime that has been committed.

A person can place a phone call to this toll free number and provide information about that crime that may lead to an arrest.

The person then is given a secret ID.

The sheriff’s department or police department will then follow up on the lead. If an arrest is made the person with the secret ID receives a reward.

The rewards will vary according to the crime. The larger the crime the more the reward.

The monies for Crime Stoppers are being funded by local businesses and persons who have a vested interest in keeping our community safe.

Crime Stoppers is not a fly-by-night organization. It is credible and has a long, successful history. The Times-Journal supports the efforts of those responsible for getting Crime Stoppers organized in Selma and Dallas County. We also hope that anyone with information that may lead to an arrest will call the number.

Crime is not just the problem of our law enforcement personnel. If we are going to reduce crime in our community, we must all get involved. This is a positive and needed step in reducing this. The growth of our community is similar to a garden. If you want to see your plants grow you must first get the weeds and thorns out of the flower bed. Selma’s thorns for too long have went without punishment.

Crime Stoppers offers an effective method for ordinary citizens to take a stand against crime.