CRIMINALS GONE WILD

A citizens group has formed in Robeson County that wants to know why
our judicial system is turning loose criminals to cause more havoc in
our communities.

We are told that the Citizens of Robeson County For Justice, which has
about a dozen members, isn't looking for new recruits -- but if the
Orrum-based group were, they wouldn't be hard to find. Escalating
crime in Robeson County -- and the inability of the judicial system to
deal with it effectively -- has folks scared and angry. Just last week
Fairmont officials meet with Old Field residents to come up with
strategies on how to combat crime in their community.

Citizens of Robeson County For Justice formed after an 80-year-old
woman was savagely attacked in her Orrum home and it was learned that
the 16-year-old who was charged with the attack was freed two days
later while Lola Griffin Nye was fighting to live in a hospital bed.

Last month, the group meet with District Attorney Johnson Britt and
Sheriff Ken Sealey, who were long on answers but short on solutions.

Britt pointed out that he doesn't have the staff to deal with the
court caseload, and encouraged the group's members to call their
legislators to lobby for a sixth District Court judgeship in Robeson
County. Sealey also cited a lack of resources, saying he has a third
as many deputies as does the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department
and twice the territory to patrol.

They both pointed out that this state's prisons are full -- Gov.
Beverly Perdue's proposed budget would close five prisons -- and that
the Robeson County jail has more inmates than it was designed for.
That ties the hands of magistrates and judges, the result being lower
bonds, shorter sentences -- and criminals back on the streets.

There have been some local efforts, including a pre-trial release
program that keeps non-violent offenders out of jail while they await
trial. Sealey suggested that a plan is in place to expand the program
during the next fiscal year.

According to Sealey, the biggest problem in Robeson County is drugs,
which he says accounts for "80 percent of the crime problem in Robeson
County." There is no way to accurately measure how much property crime
is caused by people needing money to buy drugs, or how much violence
is at the hands of people high on drugs or alcohol. But it's a lot.

Although crime is a national problem, it has become epidemic in
Robeson County, which makes the need here for solutions urgent.
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix.

What is needed is massive reform, and the place to start is by
emptying our prisons of non-violent criminals while finding ways to
put them back to work contributing to society instead of draining from
it. But that requires vision and hard work.

Our nation has historically found it easier to lock up the bad guys,
but that strategy no longer works when there are no more prison cells
or money to build them.