A task force organized by District Attorney Michael Jackson is continuing to make a difference in our community. Last week, the task force arrested five more people on various charges, and their work isn’t done yet.

They plan to be on the streets in the coming weeks to continue arresting law breakers in an effort to clean up Selma’s streets.

We applaud the efforts of the task force, which included law enforcement agencies from all around the state.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Selma Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department and Perry County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit all played a part in at least one of the arrests and we thank them for their efforts.

Jackson said the community has helped out tremendously. He said every day someone calls his office with information about a hot spot for illegal activity. That’s an encouraging sign, considering in many cases locally police have had a difficult time gathering information from the community.

We hope the phones keep ringing, so that the task force can continue to make strides in making our neighborhoods safer.

If anything stood out in the city’s recent survey of Selma, it was that citizens want safer communities and believe crime is the biggest problem we’re facing right now.

For that to happen, the community has to let the police know when it sees or hears of illegal activity.

The task force is doing tremendous work in and around the Selma area. We applaud all of the agencies for their efforts and hope to see the community’s response continue.

If we really want Selma’s streets to be safer, we’ve got to help our law enforcement officers do their jobs. If you see something illegal happening, call the police.