Editorial: Bring sense of urgency to end deadly violence

Beaufort County has a murder problem. So does our neighbor, Jasper County.

And it's a major problem.

Beaufort County had 17 homicides in 2015, double the year before. It was the deadliest year of at least the past two decades.

Jasper County had 12 homicides last year.

Perhaps these numbers seem small by the standards of a nation saturated in violence and mass killings.

But by our own standards here in Beaufort and Jasper counties, it is a major problem that demands greater attention and a heightened sense or urgency.

It is comforting to see arrests made, but law enforcement must do more.

Sheriffs in both counties cite a need for greater visibility by law enforcement, meaning more patrols in specific areas at specific times.

Sheriffs in both counties say they need more cooperation from the public in making arrests and preventing crime.

And Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner says that greater penalties for the unlawful carrying of a firearm would help.

But in the final analysis, the bloodied and burnt bodies indicate that, today, we are not doing enough to combat this scourge.

We do not see years like this as the new norm, and neither should law enforcement agencies or the elected bodies that fund them. Something different must be done -- and now -- to stop this deadly trend.

It is stunning how many of the victims are African-American men and teenage boys. It is a sad fact we must face head-on, even amid all the flowery rhetoric on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. King went to his grave preaching nonviolence. He died so that today's young people could have an equal shake in life, not so that they could kill each other.

Where did we go wrong?

Organizations like Herbert Glaze's Citizens Against Violence Everywhere are trying to help the community examine that question and produce answers.

There is no magic wand to stop people from behaving the way they do, Glaze says several years into the effort.

We say that the first step is for every family, church, school, neighborhood, municipality, county, law enforcement agency, business, civic organization and nonprofit to acknowledge that 29 murders in two relatively small counties is a major problem. Then, respond with a sense of urgency and cooperation. Because what we see today is unacceptable.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Editorial: Bring sense of urgency to end deadly violence."