For those who are concerned about crime in Selma, there is an opportunity to do something about it.

Citizens of Selma and Dallas County assembled at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center Thursday night in an attempt to be part of the solution to the crime problems in their neighborhood.

The purpose of the meeting was to bring neighbors and law enforcement together to express their concerns about crime in their communities and how it can be controlled or prevented.

Some of the main areas of concern the citizens had were:

Officer response time

The vulnerable elderly

Child curfew enforcement

More officer patrols

And understaffed law enforcement.

In today’s paper, we have an announcement about 11 new police cars being available to the department to put on the streets in Selma.

That’s a start.

The Neighborhood Watch program can also be effective, officials said.

But that takes involvement and action by the city’s residents.

Emergency Management Director (EMA) Brett Howard appealed to the group about becoming a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member.

The program helps train people in the community to respond to the community in emergency situations.

CERT members can also help the safety of the community.

Think about making a commitment by becoming involved in CERT or a Neighborhood Watch program.

It will take an effort by everyone to make a difference in the community.