It’s time for us to move forward and build a police station. For 10 years now we’ve battled each other as a community over questions like “where should it be?” and “how much should it cost?” These are fair questions to ask but not at the expense of being able to meet a need that is too obvious to ignore.

The state of our current police facilities hinders the quality of law and justice this community offers. Space is so limited that the only place for the victim of a crime to make a report is in the very same unsecured room where criminal subjects are booked. Those two functions are incompatible and should never occur in the same place. Additionally, the store of the current police building is so maxed out that evidence is stored in rooms that are not climate controlled and even rooms with a history of flooding! Storing evidence in harm’s way is no way to conduct the important job of law enforcement.

On Sept. 27, we will have yet another opportunity to prove that we, as a community value public safety. I’ll be voting “for” the bond issue because I believe that Starkville is better than the state of our current police facilities suggests.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.