Published: February 26, 2007 11:07 am            

Salvation Army theft wrong on many levels

Throughout the week, the Clinton Herald provides a list of city police reports and arrest records, printed by us after their release by the Clinton Police Department.

There was one such report that left us scratching our heads.

It was a report detailing the break-in at the Salvation Army Citadel, the second such incident in a month’s time. In January, the citadel was broken into and thieves entered every room at the building, taking several items.

And then a few weeks ago, a thief or thieves entered the Citadel and stole several items again. Among the items taken were a safe containing an undisclosed amount of money, two digital cameras, a projector and seven computers regularly used by area residents to learn technological skills. The estimate of loss reached into the thousands of dollars.

Our question is, why?

It seems obvious: Someone wanted something for personal use, or the money from the sale of the items.

But this is unsettling because this is an organization that helps many in our area; incidents such as this surely hurt the organization in getting help to others who need it. Dealing with a money crunch caused by theft is never easy and then there’s the very purpose of the stolen equipment — to help people learn technological skills. Undoubtedly the loss puts a crimp in that — even if it is temporary.

Most troubling of all is the feeling of being violated.

Salvation Army Capt. Shannon Thies said it feels as though the burglaries were committed by the same person or people — as if the culprit(s) may have returned for more.

“It feels like it was the same person, because they broke in the same way. They went to the places they knew were the jackpot,” she said.

Hopefully, it will not occur again — a local business, Lectronics inc., has volunteered to donate a security system to the citadel.

But that doesn’t take away the sting.

“We’d give people the shirt off our back here, we try to give, and for people to do this, it’s terrible,” said Thies.

We’re hoping that those responsible, through punishment, will learn about the negative impact this has had.

Oh yeah, and getting a conscience would be good, too.

        

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