Let’s keep crime in perspective

Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 13, 2010

Tuesday’s headlines from our community read like those from a much bigger, much more seedy city than from our quaint hometown.

The negative nabobs among us will point to the fact that the world is falling apart and Natchez and surrounding areas are leading the way into the proverbial toilet.

And, in some ways, we can see their points.

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It does appear that crime has reared its ugly head a bit more than usual as the summer approaches.

In the last few days our community has seen far too much crime — shootings, stabbings and on Monday, a bank robbery.

Falling into the trap of thinking that the sky is falling is easy. But that would be over exaggerating just a bit.

All crime is bad and even one injury or theft is too much.

A bank robbery can be a terrifying thing for those involved or those who fear experiencing a similar robbery.

However, we’d all be wise to remain calm and keep things in perspective.

Fortunately, the bank robbery did not involve any serious injuries.

More important to note, this was the first bank robbery reported in Natchez since 1991. Perhaps that’s what made this week’s robbery all the more shocking — its rarity.

Obviously, one bank robbery every 19 years is still one too many, however, putting it in perspective, our community is far safer than many others. And we have excellent law enforcement officers searching for criminals to get them off our streets.

It’s quite likely someone in the area may know something about the bank robbery. If so, please help law enforcement officers by providing any information possible.