why...

Working with CrimeStoppers, Greenville Police Officers have identified and arrested the 2 suspects who stalked, beat, and robbed a 62-year old man earlier this week.   The video of the 2 young suspects, one 16-years old, the other one 20-years old, clearly shows these hoodlums as they watch several people come and go in a local convenience store.  They are as vultures, waiting for an appropriate victim before they swoop down.

The 2 robbers chose Mr.  Roy Wooten for whatever reason, and then they waited outside the store in ambush for him.  They attacked and beat him, and they robbed him of $98.  For those who watched this video, it seems to beg the question of "Why?." 

People ask, "Why are some young people so hardened that they will attack and beat an old man?"  Other people want to know,  "Why don't the police do more to stop this kind of violence?"

Violence and crime are in large measure symptoms of other problems.   The Greenville Police Department is trying, through community policing efforts such as PAL,  Project Equal,  Project Success, and other activities, to address the root problems;  disenfranchisement, a lack of role models, apathy, and a hopelessness which causes young people to choose a path away from a productive life and into one of despair and crime;  A life short-lived and destined for an early grave.  These 2 young men are a result of those problems.   But make no mistake about, they had a choice and chose to go down the wrong path. However, it might have helped if somebody had been around more to help guide them toward the right path and to make the right choices.

Please join the Greenville Police Department's efforts in combating crime.  You can help.  You can participate in Neighborhood Watch.   You can mentor young people.   You can raise your children to be good citizens.  You can help be a guide and help young people make the right choice.   At the end of the day, it's still their choice and they have to be the ones to choose correctly, but it helps to have some guidance.

This community needs you.   Get involved. 

You know why.