In the wake of the Elementary School’s vandalism, there has been a lot of talk about “crime in Jones.” There has been criticism of our Police Dept. Calls for the Mayor/Council to do something. People talking about “vigilante justice,” wanting to patrol the streets and take matters into their own hands! STOP, take a deep breath and let’s take stock of what/who we are as a collective citizenry.
Jones has a police force of 7 full-time officers, including the chief, and 20 reserves. Probably the most in the history of Jones. If we had double that, we would still have crime! Being a small town doesn’t exempt us from crime. We equip our PD the best we can afford, although we cannot give them everything they ask for, we are a well-equipped force. I, also, do not believe we are having any more crime than we used to have.
What we do have is SOCIAL MEDIA and plenty of “keyboard warriors” with “keyboard courage” that highlights every little issue. PLEASE, do not misunderstand me, I and our PD takes every crime seriously! If you have been the victim of a crime, no matter how small, it’s a big issue for you. I get that!
What I’m saying is, cars have been broken into in the past, buildings have been vandalized, houses have been robbed, people have been assaulted, BUT, in the past, we didn’t have social media available for people to broadcast it! It seems like lately, people are more inclined to post something even before reporting it to the proper authority.
Folks ask questions on Facebook that are best answered by calling city hall, the school, the library, or whichever entity is responsible! I understand social media is a great way to get information out to the masses, but it seems to me, that there should be some “social media” accountability when one is simply “fanning the flames” of controversy!
Jones is a GREAT town and we are a community that cares! We have a GREAT school system! But, neither the school nor the city is perfect, no matter how much we try! We have issues, how we handle these issues shows the character we have. The response of Jones citizens showing up to clean up the elementary school shows the character of our town!