NEIGHBORS' PROTEST CAN HAVE IMPACT

Enquirer's View

Several dozen residents of the Battle Creek Avenue neighborhood and their
supporters turned out in force Tuesday for the 20th annual National Night
Out. Their message was clear: No more drugs. No more prostitutes.

Neighbors of all ages and races joined together to march through their
community and put lawbreakers on notice that they are tired of illicit
activities in their neighborhood and they won't tolerate it anymore.

Such outspoken unity can go a long way toward driving the undesirable
elements out of a community and making it a safe, peaceful place for
families to live. It can't happen overnight, but with continued efforts
residents can prevail over those people who have no consideration for
others and simply want to deal drugs or promote prostitution.

Battle Creek was one of nearly 10,000 U.S. communities that participated
Tuesday in the National Night Out program, an anti-crime campaign designed
to encourage community involvement. Residents were urged to hang blue
ribbons to show their support for the national effort to battle crime.

While residents in a number of local neighborhoods participated in the
event , the Battle Creek Avenue protest was the largest and most prominent.
It needed to be. The neighborhood off of Capital Avenue Southwest has seen
its share of trouble with drugs and prostitutes in recent years. Some
residents have been intimidated, fearful to walk down the street or allow
their children to play outside.

But such intimidation only allows criminal elements to flourish. That's why
National Night Out encourages residents to band together and make their
voices heard. By taking to the streets, as the people on Battle Creek
Avenue did, they make it clear that they will not be intimidated and that
they will stand up for their neighborhood.

Such an attitude has an impact. People involved in criminal activities
usually don't want to draw a lot of unwanted attention. That's why they
often prey on quiet neighborhoods where they can intimidate residents into
staying in their homes so that drug sellers and prostitutes can operate
unhindered.

When people make it known that they won't put up with such activities, the
criminals will usually move on to a place where they don't face outright
opposition. The residents of Battle Creek Avenue took a major step toward
cleaning up their neighborhood on Tuesday, and we hope they continue their
efforts to make their area a place where families not only live but thrive.

THE ISSUE: Tuesday's 20th annual observance of National Night Out, an
anti-crime program that encourages community involvement.

WE THINK: Through their protest against drugs and prostitution, residents
of Battle Creek Avenue and their supporters showed how people can make a
different in ridding their neighborhood of criminal activities.

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