The headline for this editorial quotes state Sen. Jack Hart at last Saturday's meeting at the Condon School. The occasion that generated the meeting has been burnt into our consciousness over the last two weeks - the murder of Jean Lampron. She was attacked and robbed on Thursday, October 13. As a result of this violence, she suffered a heart attack and died the next morning.

      But this isn't the first such event. You will certainly remember the stabbing in Old Colony that generated a frantic letter to the Mayor and resulted in a police sweep. The young girl who wrote the letter, even though she is a hero, was forced to relocate for fear of retaliation.

     Were you also aware that a $1,500 wheelchair was taken from a handicapped boy's home? Had you heard that two teenaged "ladies" recently beat up an elderly woman on her doorsteps? Or that a group of our "bravest and coolest" emptied out an elderly man's prescription medicine on his sidewalk, while he was looking on from his window?

     The mood of the meeting was intense and angry. Typical quotations of some of the comments include, "We have to take back our neighborhood", "South Boston has become an unhealthy neighborhood", and "These are our kids who are doing this! They aren't coming from another part of the City".

     The issue of parental control was central to the meeting. Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford stated that fact bluntly, when he said, "You have to solve community and family issues first. Don't ask the police to do the parents' job." And he's right (see the South Boston Online editorial, October 13, page two).

      We fully agree that more police presence is needed in South Boston. It should be in the form of foot and motorcycle patrols. It should be paid for by diverting funds from Boston's School Systems transportation budget. But first and foremost, parents must be held accountable for their children's behavior - by the police and the courts, if necessary.

     After parental control, the use of Crime Watches was most frequently mentioned. City Councilor Jim Kelly expressed his support. State Rep. Brian Wallace suggested setting up a central coordination point for a Crime Watch all over South Boston. This will work. The Dorchester Heights Association (DHA) and the Crime Watch in Chinatown prove that. The DHA leadership has stated their willingness to help other South Boston groups.

     But it's up to us as volunteers. Station C-6 and two street workers can't do it all!

     Many other ideas for safeguarding our neighborhoods were brought up at the Condon meeting - curfews, video cameras, and punishment among them. We have to report suspicious incidents more often. Call 911, then call Station C-6 and insist upon speaking to the officer in charge of the shift (617-343-4730). Get rid of the jailhouse mentality that says "no ratting out" or "I don't want to get involved.". Our young and our elderly are at risk.

     During the meeting at Condon, Wallace, Kelly, Hart, and Flaherty mutually pledged a $5,000 reward for the apprehension of Jean Lampron's killer. Why don't the rest of us add to that, as symbol of our joint concern?

      Above all, let's take action. It's up to us. Where's the outrage?