This week, six teenagers in Vicksburg were arrested and charged with their involvement in what police called a strong-armed robbery. Not only did these teens reportedly rob a man at gunpoint, they beat him as well.

These arrests come on the heels of the arrests of two other teens now charged with murder in the shooting death of a man at Days Inn on Oct. 30.

These are not the only instances lately in which teens in our area have been arrested and charged with crimes. It is an issue that needs addressing quickly.

While there is an argument about the perception of crime in Vicksburg and Warren County becoming more prevalent, the real debate should be focused on how we can curtail the crime we do have, and what can we do to stem the tide of what appears to be younger people committing crimes and committing more violent crimes.

As a society, any crime is too much and the effort recently in reorganizing the Vicksburg Police Department is designed to hold police leadership more accountable to the public and for their results.

What cannot stand is our youth becoming more violent, committing crimes and wasting their lives long before their adult lives have even started.

This is not just a problem for the parents and guardians of these children, but for us as a community. We cannot afford to see a generation lost to crime, violence and drugs. We cannot afford what we consider our most cherished possessions, our children, to be lost to a cycle of crime, prison, release and back to crime.

This trend we are seeing of younger people committing crimes and committing more violent crimes must be curtailed. As a community we must be part of the solution, along with the authorities, to make sure our children have better options and make better choices.

The future of our city and our community depends on it.