The first order of business for the new city council should be the rebuilding of the Yazoo City Police Department. The community is in desperate need of a visible and effective department as crime continues to plague our communities and neighborhoods.
We receive reports and concerns on a daily basis from citizens who are scared to death with the current wave of crime that is ripping through our streets. For a citizen to be frightened to live and perform daily duties within their community is a shame.
Random shootings are becoming the norm with many of those incidents occurring where our children live and play. When a child cannot play in his or her backyard or in a public park without the fear of being hit by a bullet, it is time to put some teeth in our law enforcement.
With the recent resignation of former police chief Joey Head, now is the time for the city council to conduct a productive search to find the department’s next leader. The city has seen about eight new police chiefs in the last eight years. How can morale and leadership be found within a department when its leadership role has become a revolving door?
It won’t be an easy task, but it is not impossible. We hope that the new city council understands the need for an effective police department to help combat the recent crime wave that is no longer creeping through our community silently. It is terrorizing our community like a lion.
We welcome the new city council members. But we would also like to welcome positive momentum in making our community safe again. When a community is scared to live, it won’t take long for death to arrive.
