I know many residents like me are fellow business owners in Jamestown and we are all in agreement that the state of public safety in our city is bad. If you were to canvass or survey the businesses in the city, I am confident that the number one issue would be crime. Crime comes in many forms. The past few years we have seen the number of incidents go up- from small vandalisms like wires being cut on our patio to larger vandalisms like broken windows, to thefts and altercations.

Now more than ever, city businesses are relying on visitors from outside the city to patronize our establishments. This is primarily due because the city’s population is shrinking, and we will continue to lose people if we cannot make them feel safe. One of the major benefits of a small town is safety- knowing each other and looking out for each other is paramount.

As a resident and business owner my taxes continue to increase, but I do not see that increase reflected in a commitment to public safety. Tax increases would be easier to absorb if I knew that in return our streets were safe. However, based on recent crime statistics that is not the case. I would like to see a firm commitment to employing adequate police officers to battle the issues that plague our city- violence, drugs, arson and the like.

I urge our city leadership to double down on their efforts to make our city safer. We have heard in the past from the current administration that they inherited problematic issues relating to the previous administration. I have also heard the statement that “we just don’t have the money.” Further, we’ve heard statements like “there is crime everywhere.” Well, I’m sorry but surrendering our city to those defeats just won’t cut it. The buck must stop here. Those statements are not hopeful and they’re certainly not a strategy. Statements like that might be good enough for other small towns, but not ours. We pride ourselves on innovation, on creativity and on efficiency. Jamestown is the city that used to average 1 murder every five years or more – a city where your kids could ride their bikes during the day without worry of their kidnapping- a city where you could leave your door unlocked and the keys to your car in the cupholder. (Though I wouldn’t recommend that). A city where we waved to each other and helped each other and looked out for each other- where we honored our men and women in uniform, brought them to our schools and inspired generations of loved ones to enter a life of service.

We are having recruitment issues and there is no wonder as to why. We have let the loud voices of our community, though small in numbers, dictate to us that cops are bad. That they are corrupt. That they are the problem. Our budgets started to pander to that nonsense. We release our criminals as soon as we book them only to be re-arrested shortly thereafter-sometimes the same day. The calls are more numerous, and the incidents are more dangerous. The force is thinning and trying their best to provide the best service they can in an environment that doesn’t support them. Who would want to be a police officer in these conditions? Who would want to sign up to put their life on the line every shift just to feel their support dwindle year after year?

We must change the narrative and encourage the younger generations to become police officers. A good place to start that initiative would be to take care of the officers that we have- give them what they need and as many as they need to be successful. We need to make them feel wanted, appreciated, and supported. There is no dignity in running a city without law and order. Crime doesn’t stop to ask its victim what political party he/she associates with. We must come together and clean the city up- it starts with our hearts and our minds, but it also needs to include support from monetary allocation in our city’s budget. Let’s be better. It takes us all to bring the city forward. Let Jamestown serve as the model for all the small towns and cities out there with their heads down to see us as a beacon of hope and as an example. Support the men and women in blue.

Our future depends upon it!

Joe Town is a Jamestown resident.