Nov 7, 2013 2 min read

Though most of us are loathe to admit it, violent crime has a way of grasping our attention and holding it. As readers, we are drawn to headlines that contain words like “murder,” “blood” and “rape.” Our anxiety and fear lead to fascination.

So, it is no wonder the serial story, “The West Enders: A Story of Murder in Desperate Times,” the final chapter of which will be published Sunday, has proved a popular feature in this newspaper.

We should note that “The West Enders” is not about an unusually gruesome or calamitous crime; it’s a story of ordinary people involved in a rather ordinary homicide. The city of Washington, after all, has experienced hundreds of killings since its incorporation, and this one was not particularly exceptional. But it is a story about real people – not unlike many people today – who are broke, angry and disheartened and in search of escape. The collateral damage from their clash is widespread.

Every day, the Police Beat in this newspaper informs us of the latest thefts, burglaries, beatings, crashes, rapes and vandalism. We who write and publish these reports, and our readers as well, tend to accept these events as normal. People are robbed, guns are fired, tires are slashed; we shrug and move on.

Until crime happens to us, we do not realize the damage it inflicts. Until your house has been gone through by a burglar, you cannot understand the feeling of violation, cannot comprehend the fear of intrusion that just will not go away. Until you have been kicked and punched and had your wallet or purse taken, you cannot imagine the emotional and psychological effects that follow.

For every crime, there is a story.

We, as a community, cannot allow ourselves to view crime as normal. Every victim represents another tear in our social fabric. Preventing crime is not just the job of the police; it’s our civic responsibility.