Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2007
Source: Melfort Journal, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007, The Melfort Journal
Contact:  http://www.melfortjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1625

CRIME MAY BE GROWING BUT IT STILL DOESN'T PAY

Last week there was a story about drugs and firearms being taken off
the street by police.

This week a story about more weapons and drugs.

What is the world coming to in this neck of the woods where people,
with all the information out there about the negative and harmful
effects drugs can have on a body, are still turning to drugs and violence?

This week a big drug bust in Naicam where over 1,000 marijuana plants,
along with firearms, were seized and a vehicle search revealed a
handgun being driven around the community.

Last week there was a story about a pair of vehicle searches which
revealed marijuana, LSD as well as a sawed off shotgun.

Last week and this week there have been break and enters into people's
homes.

What is happening here?

Is it just spring fever, there are more hours of sunlight in the
evening now so people are looking for ways to entertain themselves? Is
it that people, and they may be young people, they may not, see crime
glorified in film and through the news and are looking for their 10
minutes of fame, or infamy?

Or is it that happenings like these are just on the rise. Anyone who
has been out and seen some young people interact with older people or
figures of authority would agree that, generally speaking, young
people have much less respect for those older people or authority figures.

However, these offenders are not young people so that theory goes out.
What, then is the explanation or answer?

Would more police help, is more people signing up for programs like
Citizens On Patrol the answer?

Both seem to be necessary of late in the community, but likely more
necessary is for people to realize that whatever illegal activity they
are taking part in, be it drugs, firearms, sexual abuse or whatever
laws they are breaking, it doesn't pay to do that.

Granted people are going to break the laws, sometimes it is because
they don't know the law, but it is pretty common knowledge that
selling illegal drugs is, well, illegal and possessing illegal
firearms or having them for illegal purposes counts too.

Not everyone is going to abide by all the laws of society, that is
pretty self evident, but some of the major ones, like those listed
above, are no-brainers.

If people get involved in those it may be lucrative for a short while,
but the law will eventually catch up with you and when it does, all
the ill gotten gains will be lost and that person will have to pay for
what they did to society.

That payment far outweighs any perceived good that can be built up
through illegal activity.
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MAP posted-by: Derek