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What are the real priorities of city law enforcement in Albert Lea? Chasing down petty crimes and small-time drug dealers? That seems to be their main focus. But what about the violent crimes that have cost people their lives? What about the murders that could have been prevented if law enforcement had been paying attention to warning signs instead of obsessing over low-level offenses?

Why is there such a heavy-handed approach to non-violent drug users, while known threats to public safety are overlooked? How many families must lose loved ones before someone asks the hard questions?

Instead of using resources to stop actual violent criminals, we see officers wasting time on things that barely scratch the surface of what’s truly hurting this community.

Murders don’t just happen out of nowhere — there are patterns, histories, ignored calls and missed chances. These are not just failures — they are consequences of a broken system that refuses to see what’s right in front of it.

If the goal of law enforcement is to protect and serve, then it’s time to start protecting lives — not just reputations or arrest quotas.

Meranda O’Connor
Albert Lea