Pooling resources helps Miss-Lou

By Democrat Editorial Board | The Natchez Democrat

Published Thursday, July 24, 2008

Defining one’s identity by where you sleep at night is human nature. And most of us do it each day without giving it much thought.

“I’m from Natchez.”

“I’m from Ferriday.”

“I’m from Vidalia.”

“I’m from Ridgecrest.”

Such phrases are so commonplace that we don’t really notice it as we introduce ourselves to new acquaintances. It’s just lost in the small talk.

But defining our community by geographic or political boundaries doesn’t work well sometimes.

What’s good for one city is good for its neighbor. It’s a lesson we’ve preached in terms of economic development for years.

The fact is: when your budget and other available resources are small, working together is just plain smart.

Three key law enforcement agencies in Louisiana recognized this and re-formed a felony task force.

The point is simple: pool investigative resources to better use resources on the most serious crimes.

If a serious crime occurs in Vidalia, rather than put the full burden of the investigation on only one or two investigators, the task force can put eight criminal investigators onto one case — if it’s necessary.

That’s not only smart police work, it’s smart community building, too.

Criminals don’t care where they commit their crimes, but having a strong, more focused arm of the law looming overhead may help lock up a few felons more quickly than in the past.

Maybe one day soon we’ll all be able to say, “I’m from the Miss-Lou, the most crime-free community the country.”