In the past week in Selma, we’ve had several major crimes take place. A 17-year-old Selma High School student was tragically found dead on Thursday, about five days after he was first reported missing.

Earlier this week, the Dollar General store in Valley Grande was robbed and the Selma Police Department is still trying to track down the suspect in that case.

Unfortunately, crime continues to be a problem in Selma. How we change that is an ongoing, never ending debate that a lot of smart people continue to discuss. Maybe at some point, we’ll make some real headway.

Until then, the community can do its part in helping the police department. If you see something, say something. It sounds simple, but if it was a common practice, more crimes would get solved in a timely manner.

The Selma Police Department can only do so much. Sometimes it feels as if people look at them as all-knowing, as if they’re supposed to know who committed a crime almost at will. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The department is only as strong as the community willing to work with it.

Neighborhood watch programs are a good practice, and so is keeping a close eye on suspicious activity.

But we want to be clear: We’re not talking about running to your favorite social media app and posting about a suspicious vehicle or person walking down your street. You can do that too, if you’d like, but we’re talking about picking up the phone and calling the police if you witness a crime.

If you really want to make a difference in Selma, if you see something, say something. You might just save someone’s life.