Nothing deters crime like a police officer in the neighborhood.

The Selma Police Department has had success with its recent saturation patrols, meaning officers not usually assigned to an area are patrolling through neighborhoods, talking to people, serving warrants, issuing citations and generally keeping an eye on things.

Selma Mayor George Evans said the department has plans to place officers on foot or bicycles in neighborhoods during the summer months.

This, too, will help keep burglaries, malicious mischief, and other crimes at bay.

Combined with the efforts of the 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force under the direction of Michael Jackson, Selma just might see the clean-up it has needed for some months now.

We still don’t have enough police in the department and on the streets, but good officers willing to work for low wages in high-crime areas are hard to find.

Still, the plans for this summer sound good and solid.

The accounting will be in verifiable numbers.