In My View

We're not small-town Whitefish anymore

Times have changed and continue to do so, we are all aware of that. It's by no stretch of the imagination conceivable to consider Whitefish immune to the same changes we witness throughout this nation - both positive and negative.

There are several components of change we are dealing with in this community, and the resultant by-products of such change. We continue to experience rapid growth: demands on city services have dramatically increased. Since 2002, police calls alone have increased 200 percent.

What types of situations and crimes are we dealing with? What are our challenges? And, most importantly, what can we all do to help ourselves?

We, in Whitefish, are experiencing an increase in property crimes, partly due to the belief of many residents that doors to their homes can remain unlocked with no consequences in this changing environment. An increased transient population adds to this concern, as many find easy targets in unlocked homes and cars, with unattended valuables inside.

Increased prevalence of violent and sexual offenders is being experienced here, as quite unfortunately, some of these offenders believe that Montana is a good place to hide.

Traffic volume through Whitefish has increased along with general growth - our city council is working diligently to improve infrastructure to aid us in serving our community's safety needs.

What can we do as citizens to help ourselves and others?

Get involved with your safety. Be a good steward of your own valuables. Lock your doors, and know your neighbors. Be observant. Be suspicious when someone offers you something "too good to be true." As we all know, it probably is.

Protect your identity. Lock your cars. Call the police when you see crimes, or believe a crime may be committed. Join Neighborhood Watch. Obey traffic laws - exercise patience when behind the wheel.

We all would like to believe that we are immune to harm… harm to ourselves, our families, and our friends. No one wants to be a victim.

The good news is that we can all take an active role in prevention of many incidents of crime that can be thwarted by some basic precautionary measures.

Bill Dial is the Whitefish Chief of Police