Unique

"UNIQUE" - Defined as being "The only one of its kind" or "Unequal to anything else". This is the word being used by some when describing Chico. I must admit, I agree. Chico has some great and wonderful qualities that make it Unique, like: One of the largest municipal parks in the US, quick and easy access to the untamed wild, yet with the conveniences of popular stores and entertainment. Chico also has a Unique history of settlement and perseverance.

Prior to moving into the area, I lived in Southern California and worked for one of the largest police agencies in America, the Los Angeles Police Department. I spent a little over 10 years with that department and yes, as you can imagine, I've seen a lot. When moving into the area, one of the most common remarks was, and still is, "Wow, Chico must be a world of difference." In some ways yes, the traffic, the lines, the mere congestion of highways, buildings and people. But in other ways, not so different.

Working in this field (law enforcement) we see the underbelly of society. We see the worst in people and rarely the best in them. We get a perspective of life not seen by the majority and hopefully never seen by most. Some of those perspectives are vividly described by my partner in his column entitled, "Children."

Ya, LA is a huge place, lots of people and crime statistics known world wide. You'd think Chico couldn't compare. I don't think Chico wants to compare. You see, LA wears its problems on its sleeve. Everyone knows that LA has a huge violent crime rate,not to mention the gang problems, drug problems, homeless issues, graffiti and issues of prostitution and unlawful sex crimes. But not Chico...Not Chico?

Maybe not in volume, but in type, yes. Working here for the past two years has allowed me to see the true quality of life. It seems that Chico is not as Unique as I hoped or as some folks think. We struggle and deal with the same issues of violent crime as well as gangs, drugs, homelessness, graffiti and prostitution. Some of you may be thinking, "Well, ya, we've got those issues. But it's not that bad." Some might not think that some of the problems described are issues at all. Others of you may be in shock that little Ol'e Chico would harbor these problems. Whatever your thoughts on the issues, we deal with them on a regular basis. And we can't win on our own. We as a police department can't preserve the Uniqueness of Chico by ourselves.

It's up to us as a community to confront the problems and issues we face. It's up to you and me to invest into the hope of keeping Chico Unique. Some might think it's too late. I don't believe that. If we don't stand up now, it may become too late.

to be continued....

Cameron