Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 2007
Source: Sand Mountain Reporter, The (Albertsville, AL)
Copyright: 2007 Sand Mountain Reporter.
Contact:  http://www.sandmountainreporter.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1713

CLEAN SWEEP WAS A SUCCESS

Kudos , pats on the back all  around and a great big thank you to the
numerous law  enforcement officers who took part in Operation Clean
Sweep in Marshall, DeKalb, Etowah and other counties  this week.

Never before have so many local, state and federal  officers been seen
in such presence in the Marshall  County area for such a far-reaching
and effective  roundup of criminals. More than 200 people from at
least four counties were arrested and charged with  felonies this
week. Additionally, some 150 more were  arrested for varying levels of
misdemeanors.

Certainly, it is a shame such a roundup was necessary,  but the hard
fact there has been too much crime in this  area of northeast Alabama
and crime was about to get  out of control. That is particularly true
in the  Kilpatrick area.

Working from before sunup to long after sundown, these  men and women
did a phenomenal job surprising alleged  drug dealers, gang members
and other miscreants,  arresting them with few problems and incidents.
For  that, we are thankful.

Many neighbors did not even know raids had occurred  until after the
fact, and such raids were swiftly and  efficiently executed.
Roadblocks, although plentiful,  were conducted professionally, moving
drivers in and  through the blocks quickly.

The lengthy list of the accused transcends all races,  genders and
socioeconomic backgrounds. No one was given  preferential treatment in
this operation.

We can hope those not caught in this sweep will get the  message and
get out of our towns. In the meantime, we  continue to thank our law
enforcement officials for  their tireless efforts on a daily basis.
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MAP posted-by: Derek