To say that Selma is an Alabama town riddled with crime would likely be an overstatement – we certainly have our fair share, and perhaps more than that, but we are by no means plagued with an epidemic the likes of which Chicago or even Birmingham are facing – but it is certainly safe to assert that it is a topic at the forefront on many citizens’ minds.

There is no shortage of ideas for curbing that scourge, but perhaps the most solid proposal comes from Selma Police Chief Spencer Collier, who has worked alongside Selma City Schools Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams and Selma City Council President Corey Bowie to craft a plan that would install School Resource Officers (SROs) at Selma High School and R.B. Hudson Middle School.

These officers would be members of the local force trained specifically to work in schools, in conjunction with administrators and in the service of local students, and would be integrated into the very culture of schools, giving students the opportunity to view police officers as more than a badged authority figure bent on unjustly locking people away.

While the plan originally called for five officers, the price of which would be split between the city and the school system, it seems a new plan has been hatched that would only utilize four officers and have their payment split between the school system and soon-to-be-acquired grants, thereby allowing for the plan to be implemented at no additional cost the city.

If the council approves this proposal, which it certainly should, there is no limit to the benefits that it would have on students, educators, parents and the community, as it would simultaneously make our streets and schools safer and stand as a roadblock between our children and the villainous elements intent on recruiting them into a life of crime.

The most accurate analogy that comes to mind is that of the weed to a garden – our young people are most certainly the blooming buds that will one day make our city a thriving garden; if we fail to strip the soil of the dregs that would snuff out their blooming, we have failed in our most basic task as gardeners and ensured that nothing of benefit will ever bloom.

Our schools are the first places where we must address crime if we hope to see our populace grow into a productive and peaceful contingent, immune to the momentary trappings and damning consequences that a life of crime inevitably produces – the installation of SROs, officers capable of protecting our children and educating them properly on the high cost of low living, is indeed the first step to a peaceful city, a thriving garden.

To be sure, there are more steps that must be taken in conjunction with this if we hope to see these children prosper once they are beyond our schoolyards, but one can hardly walk a mile without taking the first step.

Beyond providing safety and inspiration to a population lacking in both, SROs provide a number of other benefits – according to the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), every dollar invested in a local SRO program produces $11.13 of social and economic value.

Nearly everyone can agree that it is high time for the city to take action to stem the rate of crime in the Queen City and there is no better place to start than with those who have the most years ahead of them and, therefore, the most opportunity to ensure that this community will survive and thrive for many years to come.