Fitting Punishment

Most of us tend to pull down the shades when we think a neighbor may be involved in wrongdoing, although media treatment of notorious incidents when people were witness to but did nothing about a mugging or suspected child abuse has done much to awaken an understandably reluctant public.

Last week's early morning drug raid in Montauk and East Hampton also could be described as a wakeup call. Many in the community knew the men and women arrested as persons who "did drugs" - and they know others. In the everyday world, there isn't much individuals can do, whether their inclinations are on the side of cracking down on crack or helping those whose lives have reached dead ends. It takes police action to begin the process.

Those who took offense that the predawn raid was turned into a media event should consider the impact of the subsequent stories and photographs on youngsters who are being warned by their elders to avoid drugs. Education against drug use can look pretty hypocritical when kids have neighbors, some of whom are parents, who seem to use drugs with impunity.

That being said, however, we urge the law-enforcement officials involved to see that those found guilty are sentenced to long-term, in-patient rehabilitation programs rather than prison. Despite its celebrity, this is still a small town where understanding and positive rather than merely punitive sentencing should be possible.