Finding updated crime statistics in Rome is no easy task.

Sarah O’Carroll, Viking Fusion Reporter

Transferred. There’s another monotonous ringtone. “Please leave a message aft—“ I hang up. It’s been one week, and I still haven’t gotten any straight answers. No one knows, or no one cares? Both the city and county police are dead ends. The city clerk transfers me to another empty office before I’ve even finished pronouncing my last name. It’s not until my interaction with the county clerk’s office, however, that I decide to finally give up:

“What’s that you were looking for?” The lady asks sleepily on the other end of the line.

“I’m trying to find crime statistics in the area to see if there have been any notable trends. Can you help me find that kind of information, or perhaps point me in the right direction?”

There’s a long pause.

“Why don’t you try the Rome News Tribune,” she says at last, self-satisfied with her fool-proof solution. “I bet they’ve got all that kind of thing.”

“Right. Thanks.”

Being referred to the local media outlet as a journalist was disturbingly ironic. My mission seemed confusing to everyone I talked to, no matter how I phrased it—as if my mere curiosity was somehow deviant. Most of the time, however, I was just passed along to another person. I left countless voicemails yet never received one call back.

I also tried to search for data online. Here, too, I met with failure. The only public records I was able to obtain were outdated. The most recent annual reports were from 2013, which is not particularly helpful when trying to see recent trends.

As simply a citizen of Rome, I found this general incompetence infuriating. I had valid questions, yet was not given one satisfying answer. Though not having a compelling story to turn in was disappointing, the greater issue is that there’s no reason to believe that any inquisitive civilian like myself could hope to learn anything substantial about this town. 

What good, then, is freedom to information, if that information is ultimately inaccessible? Citizens shouldn’t have to jump through flaming hoops to get basic knowledge, like what I was seeking. Perhaps it was just a busy week, but my experience points to a more depressing truth: no one cares. I hope that one day I’m proved wrong.