At the annual town meeting in June, Rumford voters rejected a $4,000 funding request from Safe Voices, the former Abused Women’s Advocacy Project. The vote was 708-546 which, at the time, Police Chief Stacy Carter called “crazy.”

Last week, selectmen unanimously approved spending $600 to erect signs stating the town had zero tolerance for domestic violence.

Wouldn’t that $600 have been better spent on services — support groups, prevention education and housing assistance — than on road signs?

The suggestion to purchase six signs came from Carter, who said he wants to “send a clear message that we as a community are serious about this cause” of stopping domestic violence. The funds for the signs will come from the drug forfeiture account, which seems appropriate since so many cases of violence are spurred by drug abuse.

Carter is right to support a pronounced public message, and we hope that people entering Rumford take the message to heart.

However, the fact remains that the people of Rumford lean on Safe Voices for help more than ever before as the number of domestic violence assault complaints has climbed in recent months. Many people in this community make private donations to support the agency, augmenting funding it receives from grants and public sources, but there is always a greater need for services than money to provide these services.

If Rumford wants to send a clear message, send money.

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According to a new survey, most people in Maine (93.8 percent) feel safe in our communities.

And, according to the 2011 Maine Crime Victimization Survey compiled by the Muskie School of Public Service, we — as citizens — are reporting fewer crimes to local law enforcement agencies.

That doesn’t mean there’s less crime. It just means fewer of us are reporting being victimized by crooks.

About a third of Maine’s population is victimized by crime in a given year.

In 2006, 4.8 percent of those people reported the crime to police. In 2011, only 3.8 did.

The survey doesn’t explore why fewer people call police, but it does provide an interesting picture of that trend.

Of all the crimes reported to police, women are more likely than men to report violent crimes, but overall the greatest hesitation in calling police is after a violent act.

The hesitation is also great after a threat of violence or in cases of stalking crimes.

Although fewer of us are reporting property crimes and crimes of identify theft, in the past five years we have been more consistent in reporting these crimes than in reporting crimes of violence.

The hesitation to report is especially true for victims of sexual assault which, according to the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, is one of the most under-reported violent crimes in the country.

The survey finding that so many of us feel safe in our communities is interesting in light of the fact that we’re becoming — as a state — less inclined to report crime.

At some point, if we continue the decline to report crimes, our collective feeling of safety is sure to diminish.

jmeyer@sunjournal.com

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.

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