There’s an old phrase that says “like a broken record” when referring to something that happens over and over again, or something that is said over and over again.

When it comes to crime in our community, there are some reports, some dispatches and some incidents that are “broken records,” meaning they are ones that are happening at the same time, happen with the same people or involve the same places.

It is the latter that raises the most concern.

When dispatchers ask officers to respond to the same business or the same apartment complex over and over again, the problem no longer solely lies with the individuals involved, but the owners of that business or the managers of the apartments.

Law enforcement can only do so much to clean up or curtail crime in a particular area, but if those in charge of that establishment, or the managers and owners of that complex, do little to change the surroundings and the situation, then they are in many ways complicit to the crime and the disturbances that occur.

There are addresses that 911 dispatchers call out so much that it is quite likely officers or deputies on patrol can finish the call before the dispatcher does. They know a call is coming and they know where it’s coming from. 

That is both sad and disturbing.

Again, there is only so much law enforcement can do.

To really curtail crime, it is up to those who live in these areas, those who frequent these establishments and those who live in these complexes to demand change, not just of the owners, but their neighbors.

The same can be said for certain neighborhoods and streets, where officers and deputies are routinely asked to respond.

At the time deputies and officers, they are responding to a situation that has already occurred. It has happened. Real change must be proactive; it must come before there is a problem, before the call is made. 

When it comes to the “broken records” in our community, they must be fixed, they must stop playing the same old song, and begin playing a new tune.

Law enforcement can only do so much.