There’s no epidemic of violent crime against pedestrians in Vicksburg.

It’s the responsibility of Vicksburg’s elected officials, police and our entire community to see that one doesn’t start.

Nothing, anywhere says we have to fall into the pattern other cities, large and small, have experienced. But it will take concerted action on many fronts.

Summer’s here. School’s out. Police Chief Walter Armstrong says, and we believe him, that if crimes by school-aged youths could be stopped, there would be as much as a 75 percent reduction in thefts from stores, cars and homes. In the smattering of strong-arm robberies that have been reported, the victims almost always report two or more youthful attackers jump them, rough them up and run away into the darkness.

“The guy was just so strong. He didn’t hit me. He pulled my pocketbook, and he dragged me,” said Barbara Prabhu, a vacationer from Texas who sustained a broken arm and a facial gash in an attack eight days ago. The victim, 70, and her husband, 73, had enjoyed a pleasant day in Vicksburg and what they termed an excellent meal downtown. Their “mistake” was choosing to walk several blocks back to the bed and breakfast where they were staying.

That attack and the others are not the fault of police. They patrol. The attacks are not the fault of elected officials. We have good laws and ample public funds for law enforcement. They’re not the fault of ministers, educators, judges, most parents or most young people. But every person in every one of those categories needs to be challenged to do more to stop the thugs and would-be thugs among us.

Crimes by youth and the numbers of youth arrested have blossomed to unprecedented levels. We can’t sit around and theorize about causes and cures anymore. Either we all work harder or an epidemic is sure to come. Decide to do what you can, where you can — or we’ll see our town held captive.