Residents talk public safety building with cops
Bella Vistans got together for a coffee with a cop event at Village Bible Church last Wednesday.
Police chief James Graves told the audience that he’s proud of the progress the department has made and that he believes, if the upcoming bond election secures the department a new home, it can do better.
The city council is pursuing a $24 million bond, to be secured by a 1% sales tax, to support building a new police station and court facility, raze and rebuild Fire Station 3 on Glasgow Road and construct a fire training facility, provided voters approve it during an election held in tandem with the March 3 primary election.
Graves said the new public safety complex, which will house the police department, dispatch office and court facility is a similar project for the city to an individual buying a house because someone can have healthy finances but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to go purchase a new house with cash.
“These are expensive projects,” he said.
The current facility is simply not adequate, he said, with less than half the space it should have for the current staffing levels, and it lacks important security features and facilities like debriefing rooms and holding cells. Currently, the department can
only process one suspect at a time, he said.
Additionally, he said, there’s no room to expand on the existing piece of land.
The proposed building would address these concerns and should be adequate for the department’s projected growth for 30 years.
Despite working in a cramped space, Graves said he’s proud of the department’s work.
“2019 was a pretty good year for us,” he said, noting the city was again recognized as the safest in Arkansas in multiple rankings that were recently published.
The department is still compiling its statistics for the year, but data shows the department took roughly 20,000 calls for service, he said.
Violent crime remains extremely low and property crime has remained at a similar level to previous years, he said.
Over the past year, he said, the department has acquired a second K9 unit, funded entirely by donations, built its tactical unit’s capabilities, increased staff and acquired equipment through the Department of Defense Law Enforcement Safety Office, or LESO program, which comes free of charge.
The department works hard to minimize its impact on the overall city budget while providing as much as possible, he said.
“We do the best we can as a department,” Graves told the audience.
During the presentation, Graves fielded several questions.
Asked if the department would establish a substation on the east side of town, Graves stated that it wouldn’t help much because officers are typically not dispatched directly from the department, but stay spread out in the field once their shift starts.
Asked when the building could be occupied, Graves said it would be roughly two years after the vote, assuming everything goes smoothly.
One attendee, Wayne Crump, said he was impressed by the presentation and he agrees that these projects are necessary.
“I thought it was really, good,” he said.