Founding father and second President of our country John Adams once said: “Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” (4 December 1770)

The quotation is taken from John Adams’ defense of British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trials. I couldn’t help but think of how it tied into the Selma Times-Journal front page article of last week entitled “Going On Offensive” by Blake Deshazo.

However, at first glance I thought the title was meant to imply the police department was going on the offensive in combating crime, but later concluded Chief Brock was defending the department in response to the number of incidents.

Facts truly are stubborn things, and there is no denying crime rates in Selma are extremely high. They are high regardless to how you view them, but more telling when looked at on a per capita basis. Facts are, Selma is no utopia of crimeless bliss.

But, is it the police department’s fault crime rates are so high in Selma? The answer to that is quite obviously no. Our dedicated men and women in the police department are doing all within their power to curb crime and provide a safe environment for all Selmians. I truly believe that and fully support their efforts on behalf of law abiding citizens.

The facts are, it is a people problem. In every incident reported, it is people involved in the criminal activity, bad behavior or other complaints.

We have a people problem in Selma, in Alabama, and in the nation. People commit crimes, not the other way around. The cartoon character Pogo Possum said it best with, “we have met the enemy, and the enemy is us.“

It is strange to me how some always try to affix blame on the end result rather than the root cause of the problem. People commit crimes and kill other people.

What Selma and the whole nation needs is a whole lot more of Jesus, and a lot less of hatred, envy, greed, bad behavior and lawless conduct. If you change the culture, the crime rates will recede. You say, “easier said than done,” and I agree.

As Chief Brock so aptly stated, one way of reducing crime is by applying more policing.

However, in my opinion even that has to be a proactive approach rather than reactive. A certain segment of the population is strictly against proactive policing, but it works. If the only approach is to react after the incident has occurred, there will only be marginal results.

The Selma Police Department is roughly an entire shift short of manpower.

Recruiting is difficult given the pay scale, but most importantly in my estimation is the negative press and foolish statements made by elected officials about police and police departments.

Who would want to become a policeman or policewoman under the atmosphere that has been created in the United States the last few years? You don’t take the side of the lawless over guardians of the law and expect good results.