Dear editor,

Recently, for the second time I might add, my car was burglarized.Thinking they would help I phoned the Selma police,but my efforts turned out to be a total waste of time.

After some small talk and some suggestions on burglarproofing my yard,I asked the officer, whose name I failed to get because of my anger and distress, would they try to get fingerprints in hopes that the assailant might be in some database, and they could apprehend him to prevent this from happening to someone else.

He told me they didn&8217;t have a crime scene unit and went on to rationalize how obtaining prints would be a waste of time and the dust created might give me an allergic reaction.

Mind you, I don&8217;t have

any allergies that I know of.

By now, though, we have a new chief, and his plans for the department remain to be seen.

We&8217;ve all experienced or heard of the ineptitude of the Selma Police Department.

Though the mayor doesn&8217;t handle the day-to-day activities of the department, he does set the tone of how it should be run.

Mayor James Perkins Jr. has, at best, ignored the sorry state our police department is in or, at the very worst, condoned it, and the blame for its state should be layed at his feet.

My fellow citizens, the elections are not far away. If you care anything about Selma&8217;s future, don&8217;t allow yourself to be hoodwinked by the playing of race cards, glittering generalities or other political tricks that may be played to garner your votes.

Think and vote for the candidate that has a plan and the fortitude to make our city a better and safer one.

Terry Lewis