Readers will notice a story on today’s front page by Senior Writer Martin L. Cahn about a number of arrests the Camden Police Department has made during a recent five-day period that ended Tuesday.

The story hits a number of elements. There is a little dismay at the volume of criminal activity of late. There is dark amusement at some of the thinking, or lack thereof, that some of these miscreants engaged in prior to embarking on their alleged misdeeds. There is the troubling underpinning to many of the cases -- guns present and involved. There is a sense of relief that not only are perpetrators off the street, but so are the guns that were in their possession when they were caught.

Finally, there is a sense of pride in and thankfulness for our brave and resourceful law enforcement officers, who put their lives on the line 24/7/365 to keep our community safe.

No one seems to know if there is an uptick of criminal activity and/or guns on the street -- although we suspect both circumstances are probably true -- or if we are seeing more incidents like the ones described in Cahn’s story because of increased law enforcement presence this time of year. Either way, we are always glad to see criminals -- and whatever weapons they may be using in their nefarious endeavors -- taken off the streets.

As always, we appreciate what our law enforcement officers do and we pray they and their families all enjoy safe and blessed holidays.