Arrests are light at end of tunnel

A regional crime report showing Ramona had the most dramatic drop in crime in the county the first half of this year came two days after the arrest of 65 people in Ramona and Poway. Ironic, but good news on both days.

We laud the nearly year-long investigation of the law enforcement agencies that led to the 65 arrests on Sept. 10. Most Ramonans are sick and tired of the drug abuse here and the thefts, vandalism and other crimes linked to that abuse.

As is noted in comments on the Sentinel’s website, everyone arrested last week is innocent until proven guilty. The attorneys and courts will sort through the evidence and make that determination.

Drug addicts are a sad lot whose members often lead useless lives. Those who supply them — or worse introduce them to drugs — are in a different category, a lower level. Neither has a place in our town.

The success rate of breaking a drug addiction is low, making the future for most addicts dismal. Those who recover from their addiction deserve our respect. Their path out of addiction wasn’t easy.

If drug abuse in Ramona were a tunnel, last week’s arrests are a light at the end of that tunnel. We thank those involved in the undercover sting and encourage more of it. Thanks for recognizing the problem that exists in Ramona and for doing something about it.

The job’s not done. It’s one that will require the assistance of Ramona residents as well as law enforcement. Parents, school workers, friends and neighbors will play roles in taking back our community.

For too long too many resigned themselves to thinking there was nothing anyone could do about the community’s underbelly. Last week’s arrests showed them there is.