To the Citizens of Columbus:
I am humbled by the honor to lead one of the best and brightest police departments in the State of Mississippi. Anyone who reads the paper and sees the news shouldn’t be surprised that our department has been tested and criticized in recent months.
As a progressive department we take this scrutiny seriously and take the responsibility to address our challenges and shortcomings. The plain truth of the matter is that no one has been harder on the Columbus Police Department than me. I also realize that we can only succeed in keeping our community safe by working with, for and through the community.
The beginning of my tenure has been one of great challenges. We began with five murders being committed. Our neighborhoods were paralyzed with fear. Numerous burglaries were being committed.
These horrible crimes were being committed, and we did not have time to grieve. In the midst of all of this we successfully began or revitalized neighborhood watch programs. We continued our mission within the Columbus Police Explorer program; we began the process toward achieving accreditation for the Columbus Part-time training academy, reinstituted the Columbus Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy, and implemented a survey instrument to let officers know how they were performing in the public eye.
I have committed myself to empowering and developing the command staff and supervisory officers potential as leaders of the Columbus Police Department. I believe responsibility must be accompanied by sufficient authority to accomplish the mission. I believe in the principles of delegation and accountability. I believe we are responsible for the safety of this community and that this great city will not tolerate willful incompetence. Further, that good work will be recognized, and honest mistakes will be dealt with differently than misconduct.
I expect officers to give their best advice about the future of this department and this city, not their careers. I have very little patience with office politics, rival factions or cliques. Their loyalty must be to this city. I on the other hand will pledge to see that officers are properly trained, equipped, supervised and supported.
To the community, I promise an open, accountable, accessible police department responsive to your concerns. It is my hope that, someday, support for the department will be uniformly strong across every neighborhood and from every sector of the community. I hope that someday, all of our citizens will be willing to suspend judgment when there is a critical incident until all the facts are in.
We are committed to reducing crime, fear, and disorder in your neighborhood. Treating you with dignity and respect will be our down payment on earning your trust. But, you must do your part. With your help, we can control crime but we cannot control your child. We can pick children up for curfew violations, but we cannot raise your child. We can seize drugs, guns, and money, but we can’t ask your child when he comes home with new clothes, televisions, jewelry, and iPod’s, how he could afford those items.
The greatest antidote to cynicism is a sense of accomplishment, accompanied by community support and acceptance.
Selvain McQueen
McQueen is the Columbus police chief.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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