It’s clear an understaffed Hollister Police Department can’t
stop the recent string of violence alone.
It’s clear an understaffed Hollister Police Department can’t stop the recent string of violence alone.
So Police Chief Jeff Miller’s plea last week for enhanced community awareness deserves a serious reaction if we hope to send a message to criminals that the entire citizenry is watching closely.
It’s time for the city as a whole to open its eyes to the problem and realize rising violence isn’t merely a crisis for those entrenched in gangs or poverty. It puts every citizen at risk, one growing by the day and showing no signs of retreat.
Just imagine a drive-by shooting or gang fight spilling over by foot or car into your own neighborhood, putting you and your own family at serious risk of injury or death. And just consider the gruesome discovery of a woman’s body Friday morning in clear daylight, on a roadside, in an otherwise quiet neighborhood where children often play outside, where families felt safe before this past weekend.
The horrific crime and decision to drop the body where it undoubtedly would be found typifies an increasingly brazen attitude about our city’s inability to prevent and solve crime. That fifth homicide in the past 12 months came in the wake of a gang-related shooting death two weeks prior, five drive-by shootings in 2007 and two attempted murders this year.
Miller broached his staffing problem while addressing the Free Lance Editorial Board about gang violence, with 29 sworn officers watching over a population he believes warrants more than 50 cops. But he also admitted the root of this epidemic has more to do with prevention and intervention than it does an ability to arrest culprits. He regretfully noted how the previous neighborhood watch program had been cut.
While the city’s gang task force has occasionally met about the gang problem and ways to address it, more is necessary from a larger, more diverse segment of the area. What we’re doing now isn’t working.
With no money available for a city-run crime-stoppers program, we urge businesses, nonprofit groups and concerned citizens to come together to start a new neighborhood watch run solely by volunteers. Miller pointed out how an officer could even help such a program’s launching, while leaving the rest from there up to caring citizens.
It’s time to take back the streets from thugs, to tell these gang members even if they can intimidate one another into silence and fear, the rest of us will be watching, ready to report suspicious activity and without the least bit of hesitation.
