First, let’s admit we have a problem

Published 4:36 pm Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Congressional Quarterly 2008 City Crime Rankings report was recently released. I was about to razz my brother in Yakima for living in the city ranked 84th in the nation for the most crime. I then discovered that Everett is ranked 55th.

According to The Herald, Everett Police Chief Jim Scharf disagrees with the report because he feels it doesn’t distinguish between crimes of violence and property crimes (Tuesday article, “Police chief doubts Everett’s crime ranking”).

It’s a sad fact of human nature that losing teams and officials often make excuses for failure. Instead of throwing rocks at the report, Scharf and our city leaders need to acknowledge the problem, own the problem and give us a plan for making Everett a better place to live.

Everett should be a great place by any set of metrics!

My neighbors and I have had a plague of car break-ins and property crimes this past year. If it’s true that the first step to recovery is “to admit you have a problem,” then it sounds like we shouldn’t expect relief any time soon.

Jim Johnston