Encouraging signs continue to point to a can-do attitude when it comes to fighting crime in Salisbury and Rowan County.

• County commissioners approved a new crime reduction unit for the Sheriff’s Office on Monday, beefing up law enforcement with two more detectives and four master sergeants. While much has been said about Salisbury’s problems with violence and crime, those problems don’t stop at the city limits or the county line. Heroin, other opioids, meth and other drugs have ruined countless families, and the Sheriff’s Office is working hard to combat that scourge. Meanwhile, off-duty deputies are helping Salisbury patrol its streets and earning overtime in the process.

• Livingstone College and the Sheriff’s Office set up a win-win partnership in which deputies who have an associate degree can complete requirements for a bachelor’s degree at the college. In the process, Livingstone students get to know these law enforcement officers as classmates and realize they are “just normal folks.” Livingstone is willing to do the same for city police.

• Police Chief Jerry Stokes briefed City Council on Tuesday about progress his department has made in forming partnerships with the SBI and federal authorities, and in filling vacant positions in his department. Fourteen vacancies remain, but he believes he can get those down to eight by June.

• A Stop the Violence Summit is in the works for Saturday, March 18, thanks to  Women for Community Justice, the NAACP and other conveners. Al Heggins of the Human Praxis Institute says this will be an opportunity for people from all parts of the community to come together, brainstorm and help put together an action plan.

• Legislation to address the state’s opiod problem is receiving a positive reception in the General Assembly, according to State Sen. Tom McInnis, who represents part of Rowan County. The bipartisan measure co-sponsored by McInnis, The Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention Act, or STOP Act, puts new reporting requirements and stricter controls on the distribution of opioid medications, usually prescribed for pain.

• City Council opted Tuesday not to change the time or limits on its public comment period, which lately has been dominated by crime concerns. Citizens perceived the suggestion as an effort to quash the debate. Council members took no action on suggestions brought up last month by Mayor Karen Alexander. This was a good move.