One can argue that cuts to the public defenders program is a good idea &045; we shouldn’t be building bigger jails, adding attorneys and support persons to public payrolls.

One could say that if parents did their job &045; parent and discipline their children &045; many of society’s problems would not be the problem they are today.

One could argue we must get away from blaming someone else for our troubles &045; we should return to a time when personal accountability was important.

One could reasonably argue all these points &045; but it doesn’t change the facts.

Crime is up. County attorneys are prosecuting more cases today than even five years ago. More people are spending time in jail than even five years ago.

We deny the need for bigger jails, we deny our public criminal justice offices the staff they need to keep with the number of criminals coming through the system, then get on a high horse when criminals are let go early &045; to make room for other, more serious criminals &045; and they reoffend.

We cry about public safety and a breakdown in the system. Well, there is a breakdown in the system. It starts at home. If accountability, responsibility and sensibility isn’t being taught there, it must be addressed somewhere.

Schools give it their best shot, but they, too, aren’t getting the funding needed to address the problems.

When kids move out of school, then our cities and counties try, at the very least, to remove these criminals from the streets. And they are being asked to do this with less money and less staff.

We simply can’t have our cake and eat it, too.