Speakers took their turns at the podium Monday night at the Ward 8 crime task force meeting. Their message, though, remained the same – community involvement.

Politicians, concerned citizens and members of law enforcement gathered at Second Missionary Baptist Church on Monday to discuss the crime issue and how to solve it. The answer, though, kept recurring regardless of who stood at the microphone – residents must get involved in fighting crime.

“People must get involved,” said Yusuf Salaam, state representative. “No outside force can come into the community and stop crime. They can supplement the effort, but they can’t solve the problem.”

Salaam added that once the community became involved, law enforcement must follow. He suggested community policing, or “walking and talking,” to create a police presence. “When people see law enforcement concerned about the community, they’ll start getting concerned,” Salaam said.

Ed Greene, Dallas County district attorney, agreed with Salaam. “Some solutions to crime include keeping churches full and working with our youth. Everybody can say ‘amen’ to that,” he said.

Quite a few people did.

“But we can also be nosy,” Greene added. “We can know our law enforcement officers. On court day we need good people there to testify. We can put criminals in jail, but we need people working on the front end.”

Capt. Roy Freine of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department said Crime Stoppers was one method of getting involved in the community. If someone has information about a crime, they can contact Freine anonymously. If the tip proves true, they become eligible for a cash reward. “I want Selma to be our town,” Freine said. “It’s time for us to take our town back.”

Corey Bowie, Ward 8 representative to Selma’s crime task force, said he wanted law enforcement officers at the meeting so residents could get information “from the horse’s mouth.” Their presence also gave residents a chance to network with law enforcement officers.

“This is going to be a continuing process,” Bowie said. “Crime never rests.”

According to Bowie, a strategic plan for combating crime would be formed at future Ward 8 meetings. Aspects of the plan could include career and self-esteem workshops. “We want to make it more of an inclusive thing and not an exclusive one,” he said. “We’re in one ward, but we’re still part of Selma.”