Cape mayor outlines what city is doing about public safety

The world is full of filters. Social media image filters can create a movie-star version of a person. Water filters remove all kinds of impurities. Even self-imposed language filters can keep conversation on a suitable-for-many level.

Filters can be good. Sometimes, though, the best filter is no filter.

And that's what Southeast Missourian readers get when our elected officials speak directly to them in the form of a guest column on our Opinion page. These leaders spell out their positions and address issues in their own words.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Stacy Kinder recently submitted the first of three installments of her State of the City address. The piece focused on public safety. The other two guest columns will address infrastructure and economic development.

The mayor's public safety comments noted that while crime is a serious concern for many, local law enforcement efforts have lowered rates of some of the most serious crimes, including homicide, assaults and robbery.

She said investments in technology, such as the ShotSpotter gunfire tracking system and license plate readers, have paid tangible dividends in terms of arrests and successful investigations.

With a focus on mental health and its effects on public safety, the mayor highlighted grant funds paying for mental health co-responders with the police department. These co-responders assist in mental health interventions, providing the correct type of assistance -- treatment over tickets.

Serious issues remain, though, according to the mayor. She said officials need to address homelessness, juveniles carrying weapons ("often at the behest of adults with criminal intent") and vacant/condemned properties that serve as breeding grounds for criminal activity.

She also highlighted community involvement programs sponsored by the city's police department, such as Neighborhood Roll Call and Coffee with a Cop.

Read the entire piece at semissourian.com.

Her column provides substantive commentary on a variety of public safety issues facing the city.

Keeping residents informed of what their local government is doing is a part of serving as a public official. Mayor Kinder recognizes this and clearly articulates accomplishments, needs and goals.

We look forward to more information of this kind from the mayor and other elected officials who wish to speak directly to constituents in this filterless manner.