As a kid, I remember P.F. Flyers. They were long before the Nike, Reebok, or any of the other highly engineered, fashionable sport shoes. P.F. Flyers had rubber bottoms and canvas tops. We called them "sneakers."

Cops call this modern-day footwear "felony shoes." Why such a name? Because street people run up behind some unsuspecting lady, snatch her purse, then take off running.

By the time a witness calls 911 and a patrol car responds to the area, the guy, transported by his "felony shoes," is off into alleyways where no police cruiser can follow.

Every problem has its own solution. The answer to this problem combines the cellular telephone with Charleston (SC) Police Chief Reuben Greenburg.

He reasons that these cats in "felony shoes" are little more than a temporary setback to solving the crime of purse snatching.

Chief Greenburg, a serious innovator, recruits high school grads who are also track stars. He sends these rapid young men to the police academy, trains them and gives them experience with the road patrol.

Now, the chief assigns these swift-footed street cops to Volkswagen patrol cars in downtown traffic. The former track stars are, of course, wearing state-of-the-art sport running shoes furnished by the police department.

Now, here’s where the cell phone figures into the equation. These days, with widespread use of cell phones, many good citizens are quick to call 911 when they see a crime committed.

Back to the track star cops in Volkwagens. They catch the call from headquarters on their police radio and drive to the crime scene area. As soon as the good guys spot the perp, they bail out of their police VW and do what they do best-run like the wind.

The plan works! It’s so simple, why didn’t somebody think of it before? Chief Reuben Greenburg did. Now the term "felony shoes" is fast becoming an obsolete phrase.