Television crime dramas are amazingly entertaining and perfectly timed — the bad guys always are discovered just minutes before the show ends.

In the real world, such criminal investigations are rarely as exciting, as seemingly easy or as expertly choreographed.

Real world criminals are crafty.

Actual witnesses often have selfish reasons why they don’t want to come forward and talk.

And DNA evidence doesn’t just fall from the sky and perfectly into the laps of investigators.

For the most part, our local law enforcement investigators do a great job. We’ve long said that Natchez’s crime is far lower than most big cities, and that it’s rarely random in nature, particularly on the most heinous crime — murder.

If you become a victim of murder in our community, most often, you probably know your assailant and, chances are, domestic issues are at the root of the motives.

Occasionally, however, a criminal slips past the quick hand of justice.

These cases quickly become “cold” as witnesses and other evidence becomes less easy to obtain and secure.

Our area has a handful of these murders that have occurred in the past few years that remain unsolved.

We continue to urge not only local law enforcement to continue vigorous pursuit of justice, but also of each of you — citizens, pastors, families and friends of the victims.

Even the best law enforcement needs the help of good, law-abiding residents to help point out evidence that may otherwise go unseen.

The families of the victims deserve a sense of closure by knowing what happened to their loved ones.