FIGHTING CRIME

It isn't hard to find deplorable examples of criminals taking over streets and neighborhoods across the country. But as crime has blossomed the past few decades, so has the public's intolerance for criminals. Law enforcement is sharpening the tools it needs to stem the tide of gangs and drug trafficking, mayhem and murder.

Nationally, murders reported to police dropped about 12 percent in the first half of 1995, one of the largest decreases in more than three decades. Improving crime statistics can be found in such large cities as New York and such smaller communities such as Cairo, Ill.

Cairo's population of 4,846 could qualify it as a small town by many standards. But it was big-city crime that plagued this community for years. That has changed. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno recently recognized Cairo as one of the top five communities in the nation to reduce drug crimes through a marriage of federal and local law enforcement efforts. The community as a whole has rallied behind the effort.

Over the past year, the city can boast of decreases of up to 80 percent in some crime categories. The town went through 1995 without a single murder. Armed robberies dropped from 21 in 1994 to four in 1995. Aggravated assaults decreased from 68 in 1994 to a dozen last year. Overall crime is down 60 percent.

More officers on the streets has led to a greater number of arrests. And a crackdown on the legal end has resulted in 74 federal and 59 local drug convictions.

Citizens of Cairo and law enforcement are justifiably proud of strides made in both arrests and convictions. Slowly, but surely, these efforts are making Cairo a much safer place to live and work.