A look at recent crime reports, may have residents wondering if Natchez has started to resemble an Old West town.

Reports of gunshots within the city limits are far too common.

Most of the time, the reports of gunfire come from residents who hear them from afar. Finding who fired the shots can be a difficult task for law enforcement officers.

Some of the city’s gunfire reports could be false, attributable to something else, such as a vehicle backfiring or children playing with fireworks.

Far too often, however, gunshot reports are legitimate and relate to specific incidents, in which someone is shot whether in commission of a crime, a dispute or by accident, as was the case with a 16-year-old male killed last week.

When police officers respond, oftentimes the victims choose not to press charges, sometimes even in cases involving serious injuries.

Natchez has a law on the books prohibiting gunfire within the city limits with exceptions for shooting ranges and in justifiable cases such as self-defense.

Enforcing that law is rarely an easy task, but it is especially difficult when victims will not press charges and when shooters are impossible to identify.

At Tuesday’s board of alderman meeting, Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong received approval to work with City Attorney Bob Latham to strengthen the city’s lone gun ordinance.

In making his request, Armstrong cited limits of the fines and jail time in the current law. Upon conviction of unjustifiably discharging a weapon inside the city limits, Armstrong wants mandatory jail time and a hefty fine.

We like the idea, but the law is only as effective as its enforcement.

For the stiffer penalties to reduce the incidents of gunfire in the Natchez city limits, residents must step up when they witness a shooting, and the fines and penalties must be consistently imposed on perpetrators to keep them off the streets long enough to keep victims from fearing repercussions.