Tuesday’s decision by Columbus and Lowndes County governments to resume its joint drug task force is a positive step at an important time.
Both the city council and the board of supervisors unanimously approved the decision to combine efforts to combat drug crimes, which are often associated with a variety of other serious offenses, including murders, assaults and robberies.
Pending approval for the state attorney general, the city and county will appoint four officers each to the task force, which will be under the direction of LCSO Capt. Archie Williams and Sheriff Mike Arledge.
This is not a new idea, of course. A similar task force, called the Metro Narcotics Unit, was generally thought to be a success until an ugly dispute over personnel between Arledge and then-Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen abruptly ended the program in 2012.
Assuming the two governments can avoid that sort of conflict going forward, we believe the new drug task force will prove to be a positive response to effectively attacking drug-related crime throughout the county.
Sharing resources and information across and within the city limits should help both the CPD and the LCSO in presenting a unified front against serious offenders.
For the past four years, the left hand was not always aware of what the right hand was doing, in the case of city-county law enforcement. The task force should close the inevitable gaps that emerge when drug activity begins in one area and moves to another, which is often the case.
At a time when relations between the city and county have been strained, we are encouraged our two law enforcement agencies can put territorial interests aside for the benefit of all who live in the city and county.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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