Target: Crime -- City's GPAC effort an interesting view on stopping criminals

Is it working? We don't know yet.

But even if it turns even one offender or gets one person to think before escalating to a more serious offense,the Goldsboro Partners Against Crime effort is worth the time it takes to round up the offenders.

The idea is to warn those who are already part of the criminal system that they have a choice -- before they go out and commit their next crime.

It shows them the options, the consequences and introduces them to community members who can help them earn a fresh start.

We don't know yet if it matters. Those statistics will come with time.

But it is a step forward, another weapon in an arsenal that is designed to cut back on crime in the city -- and in surrounding cities.

Truth is, there is reason to try something. There are more and younger offenders out now and entering the world of crime.

And as evidenced by the county's feverish attempts to get a new county jail in the works, we are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax money to find somewhere to put them.

We cannot afford anymore crime. Not just because of the cost of incarceration, but because of what it does to the city's possibilities for the future.

So we will watch closely to see if GPAC works.

Perhaps it will be the additional step that starts the statistics in the other direction.

Published in Editorials on May 21, 2014 10:58 AM