Police in our city and region have been busy lately.

But then — they’re always busy.

Recently we have seen a series of arrests in homicide cases, some cases going back a couple years and some more recent.

We all should be grateful for the diligence and hard work to bring suspects in this cases forward for prosecution. Resolving homicide cases requires a thorough, exhaustive attention to detail and we appreciate that these violent cases are perhaps closer to being closed.

We’ve also seen, as the Sun-Gazette reported a week ago, training for the Special Response Team continue. The Special Response Team, a multi-agency team, trains frequently to enable responses to situations that have a particularly high risk of danger — school shooters, pipe bombs and hostage situations were some of the potential scenarios Joshua Bell, commander of the unit cited.

Serving on the team is an enormous sacrifice for the team members.

Team members go through a vigorous application process and extensive training, often far from home and conducted on their own time. Many are police officers while some are EMTs, bringing a variety of necessary skills to crisis resolution. As Bell says, it is a huge responsibility and very demanding.

And the training and specialized equipment the officers use to prepare to perform these challenging tasks are not funded by any municipal, county or state revenues.

We hope anyone who has the means will consider a contribution, which can be made out to the Williamsport Special Response Team.

They are an integral part of our community’s safety, willing to confront the worst situations and seek resolutions that preserve the lives of city residents.

— Williamsport Sun-Gazette