Our View

Our View

Kudos to WMPD for reminder to keep tabs on children

Let us be among the many citizens of West Memphis to show our sincere appreciation to the men and women of the West Memphis Police Department for first, doing an outstanding job at dealing with the crime in this city, but also reaching out to the community in a very positive way.

The recent tragic and senseless shooting death of a West Memphis teenager, this city’s first homicide of the year, has only intensified efforts by the men and women of this police department to better interact with the community in ways that that may prevent another tragic loss of life, particularly when it comes to this city’s youth.

Among the many creative ways police officers are reaching out to the citizens in an effort to develop positive relationships is a remake, or a modern version, of what was done during the 1970s, something we remember as “It’s 10 p.m., do you know where your children are?”

You see Dexter Moore, an Academies of West Memphis junior, was tragically shot and killed about 9:30 p.m.

Feb. 6 in the Steeple Chase Apartment Complex. And, despite the obstacles that were put in their way, officers were able to quickly identify a 14-year-old suspect who has now been charged with murder in the second degree.

The tragedy of all this is not only is one minor dead but the life of another is ruined forever.

Since Moore’s death the police department has created what is called “9 p.m. Routine” program, designed specifically to focus on juvenile crime in the city.

Using social media, word of mouth and this newspaper officers are making a real effort to reach out asking citizens to lock their house and cars and turn on porch lights.

More importantly, officers are reaching out to parents of their juvenile children and encouraging them to keep a close watch on their activities and set self-imposed curfews making sure they are home by a decent hour.

This teenager might be alive today if he had been home where he belonged at 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and in a location we’re told had been under police surveillance.

Back in the day, it seems, things were very different.

Families were united in that there were both parents present, family values were followed, children were taught to respect their elders and people of authority such as police officers, teachers and like people.

Not so today where we put up with single parents attempting to raise children on limited income and government handouts, children left unattended and unsupervised and no formal upbringing whatsoever.

More often than not the results of today’s dysfunctional society are senseless killings, such as the case of the Moore murder, juvenile delinquency, gang related problems and other serious issues that are left up to law enforcement, public schools and the courts to deal with.

With newly elected West Memphis Mayor Marco Mc-Clendon pushing for solutions to the crime issues facing this city he might want to understand the causes such as those we have mentioned.

Public authority, police or school officials can’t be the solution when we have an alarming number of children and young adults with little or no formal upbringing and being raised by a single parent, an elderly grandparent or some other relative.

What our police officers are doing to encourage parents to be more responsible with their children is admirable but it may come a time Mayor McClendon put in place a strict mandatory curfew for children under 18-years-old and making parents held accountable.