Archived Letter - 1095

Dear Editor:

I am writing to you about the headings “Speeder of the Week” and “Crime of the Week”. Usually when you use the phrase “…of the week” or “…of the month” you are implying a reward or personal outstanding of an individual. For example “Employee of the month”; such an award gives that employee their picture and name hung up on a wall. Now by saying “Speeders of the Week” it gives to its readers the impression that the police frame and hang up a picture with a label of the “Speeder of the Week” or the “Crime of the Week”; I hope this is not the case.
I understand that these two columns are quite interesting. A 19 year-old boy was driving 170 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. My first reaction is “What was he thinking?” The headings catch your attention because people want to see who the ‘bad kids’ in the town are. These columns, however, seem to give more praise to the people who break the law. The heading “Crime of the Week” is inappropriate for its content. I don’t think a man who was murdered and left on the side of the road should be disrespected by being included in a column “Crime of the Week”. Also why is it “Crime of the Week” if it happened in December of 2015?

Elizabeth Flach