When the Great Bend City Council met Monday night, it’s possible that some of them left houses empty for the evening.
For certain, they left cars parked on the streets or in parking lots.
The security of those houses and cars is a shared responsibility.
It is the job of our hired police officers, but it’s also up to the owners and to the citizenry of Great Bend.
To a great extent, we are all in this together, because there continues to be an element out there that is more than happy to take advantage of any opening for ill-gotten gain.
The council discussed the need for improved police presence and it’s clear that all of us could always do a better job.
Chief Dean Akings and his officers are committed to improving the police presence — doing more with what they have.
And the council is hearing that it may well need to add to the force.
There is responsibility for local residents, too.
We need to be security conscious.
That involves utilizing improved locks, better lighting, and then paying attention to what is going on around us.
If we see something suspicious in our neighborhood, we need to call 911 and alert the police.
Of course, it is much easier to know what is suspicious in our neighborhood if we take the time to learn what is normal. If we don’t know our neighbors, if we don’t look out for the kids down the block, if we aren’t paying attention to which houses have elderly shut-ins ... we well may not know when something suspicious is going on.
It’s easy to whine that the police aren’t doing their jobs well enough, but we should, each one of us, ask if we are doing our jobs as conscientious citizens as well as we should.
— Chuck Smith