I just witnessed something from my living room windows that upset me. A decent-looking woman running down Douglas Highway, no shoes on, shorts with T-shirt, and looked like a wallet in one hand. Bare of any other essentials for so very early in the a.m. She was determined to reach a destination with her head held high but obviously in distress.
My first thought was I should call someone, the police to do a welfare check? I didn’t do anything because I didn’t know what to do. I watched till she ran out of my range of vision, which was Lawson Creek Bridge. I will tell you why I didn’t know what to do or who to call.
Our family has been residents of Juneau for seven generations now, four generations still living here today. We have seen many changes in Juneau and here lately, not so many good changes. That is why I didn’t bother to call the police for assistance for this lady, as I hear that police are short-handed and short-budgeted and may not even show up. Even if they show up to a crime scene, they don’t even arrest a person. Some criminals might go as far as arrested and before the judge, and let go on probation and a slap on the wrist. What?! How can this be?
Do I feel safe in Juneau any more? Not, not at all, and this is why I didn’t call anybody. I still have respect for our police force in Juneau, but I just don’t know how effective they are any more with all the politics going on, with their ability to protect the citizens of Juneau. It’s not their fault, I suppose, but something has got to change and change fast. I want to feel safe and secure in my home and surroundings as we plan to live out our lives here and we are in our 80s now.
Betty Miller,
Juneau