Barrow’s future rests in the hands of 4 people

These four men, more than any other group of individuals, have the power and opportunity to do something that could change the future direction of the community for the better.

It’s no secret that crime is a problem in Barrow County. It is one of the major issues that is holding Barrow County back and touches just about every aspect of the community.

Yes, transportation and traffic is a major problem. Yes, education results are an issue. Yes, county leadership and budgets are a concern.

But fixing those won’t mean much if the county’s crime rate, especially drug and alcohol abuse, continues to run rampant.
Fixing education won’t be possible as long as too many children who attend Barrow schools live in a drug culture where their parents care more about their next hit than their child’s homework.

Fixing transportation won’t mean much if there’s nowhere to go because businesses leave the area.

Fixing the county budget won’t be possible if property values are suppressed by the impact of crime on neighborhoods.

Statham’s Chief Martin made a very astute and telling comment in a Journal story last week about prescription drug abuse in Barrow County: “It’s so entrenched in the culture of the county, it’s almost invisible,” he said.

“Entrenched in the culture.” That just about says it all.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Should the decent citizens of Barrow County have to just accept that drugs are an endemic part of their community? Should they sit by silently as their neighborhoods deteriorate and their children and grandchildren grow up in a culture that accepts illegal drug use as the norm?

That’s why Smith, Dorsey, Martin and Nadeau are so important to the future of Barrow County. All are relatively new in their positions and represent a break with the past when certain kinds of crime were ignored.

It won’t be easy or quick, but these four men have their hands on the levers to send a strong message to both drug dealers and drug users and other local criminal elements: Get out!

They have the means to make life difficult for those who both sell and buy drugs on the streets of Barrow County. They can make Barrow an unwelcome place for thugs and thieves.

They are already starting to do that. There’s more cooperation and coordination between the departments now than in the past. And they’re having a major impact on crime with recent crackdowns.

But to have long-term success in those efforts, these four men and their departments will need the support of the community. They will need the support of the judicial system to get tougher on drug crimes so that the doors of the county’s courthouse don’t just revolve around and around. And they will need the support of the good citizens in Barrow County who should encourage them in their efforts to crack down on crime.

Of course, nobody expects perfection. There will always be drugs and crime in any community.

But it doesn’t have to be as deep and widespread as it has become in Barrow County in recent years.

There are those in the community who believe officers should not strongly enforce drug offenses. After all, if people choose to use drugs, it’s their business, right?

But that’s a cop-out. Drug abuse, including alcohol and prescription medications, impacts the entire community. It increases thefts as people steal to support their drug habit. It affects children in the homes where drug abuse is part of family life. As some recent stories have shown, child sexual abuse is often part-and-parcel of drug abuse.

Barrow County is on the bubble in its crime problem. Community leaders can either support law enforcement and judicial efforts to clean up the drug element, or they can bury their heads in the sand and pretend no problems exist.

But if that happens, Barrow County will become a suburban haven for even more drug abuse and there will be an open invitation for gangs and other organized crime activity to come here.

Now is the time to deal with this issue by standing behind those in law enforcement who are trying to crack down on thugs and thieves.

Mike Buffington is co-publisher of the Barrow Journal. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.