In an age where both racial tension and a rising crime problem have been pushed to the forefront of the American consciousness, the horrid tale of police corruption in Philadelphia strikes to the heart of these issues.

Five renegade police officers who patrolled a predominantly black neighborhood in Philadelphia that has been riddled with crime and drug abuse, have plead guilty to various crimes such as robbing, unnecessarily beating, lying and planting phony evidence in the past three years. More officers are expected to be prosecuted.

Fortunately, as a result of these dirty cops’ confessions, nearly 50 drug cases have been overturned.

Many hundreds of other cases in which the officers were involved, ranging from drug possession to homicide, are now being examined by the Philadelphia judicial system.

With crime continuing to rise in America, with drugs continuing to a pervasive negative influence in our inner cities and with such racially-charged cases in the past few years such as the O.J. Simpson trial, Rodney King and Des Moines’ own Larry Milton, now is a time when it is crucial for police departments and citizens of all races to establish a sense of trust and cooperation.

It is incidents like this sad Philadelphia story that not only justify many people’s mistrust of our police departments, but make the duties of those police officers who are truly committed to helping our communities battle crime and drugs that much more difficult.

These dirty cops have tainted the reputation other cops have worked hard to maintain. They’ve put in jeopardy the trust a community should feel for its police department. Let’s hope that trust is not lost for good.