Stolen guns cry for arrest, police action

Published Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Few things can make us feel more unsafe than headlines like this: “Guns stolen from deputy’s car.”

The story was one from this newspaper recently, and the crime just makes us shake our heads.

A 12-gauge shotgun, semi-automatic AR-15 and a Taser were stolen from a Natchez-Adams Metro Narcotics Unit in the Roselawn Subdivision.

Investigators said the burglar knew what he was after and realized what would be inside the vehicle.

A criminal so brazen that he or she would break into a law enforcement vehicle is one to fear. And now he’s well armed.

It’s also disturbing that law enforcement property can even be broken into.

Sure, it’s logical. You can steal anything if you try hard enough. But we’d like to think that police and deputy property has an extra layer of security surrounding it — obviously not.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office has now changed its policies so deputies do not store weapons in their vehicles.

The police department, wisely, already has this policy.

The only thing left to do is catch the criminal who did the deed.

This is a crime local officers should take personally. The theft simply makes them look silly and gives all area residents reason to worry.

Not only do investigators need to pin down an arrest, but also they need to ensure that future incidents don’t occur.