Bill Zieger: Community must also step up

Regarding the March 11 news article “Coalition recommends changes in Raleigh policing”: Where are the “bootstraps”?

I am by no means a reactionary and do not condone biased policing, but after reading the article regarding recommendations offered by the PACT coalition regarding policing in the Southeast Raleigh area, I am struck by the imbalance in responsibilities. They all seem directed at what police should do but no mention of actions the community itself could take to improve the situation.

The list off the top of my head is certainly not exhaustive, but where is its commitment to warn its children about the dangers of unprotected sex and teenage pregnancy? What will it do to foster parents to stress to their children the importance of education and address the drop-out rate? What is it doing to encourage residents to report gang activity, drug dealing and crime to the police?

A safe and decent community is as much a community responsibility as it is a police responsibility. There is no mention of this in its recommendations.

Perhaps it is time for PACT to do some serious soul searching about what it can do to help its friends and neighbors.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Bill Zieger: Community must also step up."