Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Georgia Focus. I'm John Clark on the Georgia
and Use Network. The Georgia Association the Police Chiefs has
grown in membership, influence, and professionalism to become one of
the most respected law enforcement associations in the state. It's
the largest professional association for law enforcement administrators in Georgia
and one of the largest in the country. Today we're
talking with its executive director. But airs, well, it's good
a sea chief. I call you chief if you were
(00:33):
at county for so long.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I spent total thirty five years at Wyne County PD,
made four to the end of twenty nineteen. The last
five years I said as chief.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
See, yeah, people still call you chief. Okay. I found
it to be weird.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, I'm sull retired chief, and nationally I'm interested. I was.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I was officially retired for about six weeks and then
I started this job here.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
As the executive director of the Georgian Association of Chiefs
of the Beliefs. That's great problem. I'm really, you know,
dealing with the same people that I know that the
professional I care a lot about. I'm just kind of
doing it from.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
A different anima. Yes, what is it different. What is
different about it from being on this one on the
one side being members and then now you've being the
executive director. What is what is it about now that
you tell police officers or police chiefs this should be
a member? What should what are members do now?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Well, what we tell chiefs is that nobody knows what
you're going through.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
It's some other chiefs.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
And we have a wide diversity of members across the state.
We have agencies that are one officer agencies and that's
whole chief.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah. Then we have all with the City of Atlanta,
you know, two thousand bus people. We have state agencies,
rural urban agencies that have.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
A lot of or i should say a well funded
property tax base, and others that are struggling just to
put gas in the cars. And you know, part of
our job here is is to provide the training for
police chiefs across the state and we are mandated by
the Georgia Law.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
OCBA to actually do that.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
So anybody that comes becomes a chief and they have
to come to over the first scheduled or first available
what we'll call is Chief School Chiefs Executive Training program
that we put on here and that's a sixty hour
Monday through Thursday, Earth week Monday through Thursday to second week.
We provide them with the basics of what they need
(02:39):
to know as sr as being the chief, we run
about five other sessions a year.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
And then the other thing that.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Georgia law requires that we do, actually requires all police chiefs,
is they have to attain twenty hours of executive level.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Training every year.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
And that training either has to be provided by our
association or approved by our association.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
And it's like all officers across the state, everybody.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Has to there at least twenty hours in but the
chiefs it's executive training, and failure to get that training
every year, the chief will lose their looser powers of
the racks and they'll have to approach posts and request
a waiter to have to read state it.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
So, yeah, we stay busy.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
That that is our bready butter ear sour speed. They
here at the Association is providing train.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
For the chiefs.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
So it was it was meant for you to be
in this role because what you did before is chief,
you know what they're experiencing, you know what they're doing.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Yeah, it's you know, I guess I saw from the
aspect of a large agency, they have a lot of resources,
and then going out.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
And talking to some chiefs, some smaller agencies, you know,
they don't have a staff, they don't.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Have a command staff or a lot of resources to
handle some of the things that they're handling.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
So, you know, I can impart what I've learned and
county with others, but I'm also learning a lot from
other chiefs across the.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Stateum, what are some of those small groups? Tell you
that they just clid out for help or something like that,
they're taking the help they can get.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Well, it's you know, they of course have a much
smaller buddet than than larger Metro Atlanta the agencies at
but then again, you know they have fewer citizens, they
have fewer crimes, they have fewer populations.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Ever, but what we tell Cheese is.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Basically, no matter who you are, where you are in
the state, whether you're one officers department or your two
thousand officer department, you are going.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
To face the same types of issues.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
It's at a different stand Yeah, And no matter where
you're a chief at, you still have to follow that
same constitution of the United States, the same constitution of
the State of Georgia and so found. It's more of
a challenge, you know for the chiefs at the smaller
agencies to get that time allway they that training or
taking that train because.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You know they're the one of us family with the
calls here.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
That's true, that's true. Well, that's gonna be.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Tough, that is. And you know as a chief, you know,
the chief is.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
The policy maker of agency and you have policies and
procedures and then everybody else is a excuse the tournament
policy follower, right, and you know there's different connotations and
responsibilities on accountabilities that come with that. So we have
several agencies out here now, but that the chief is
(05:37):
one working.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Therec one who want to call the one working the
henine uh in the dog and they don't.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Have you know, a staff to the lives right right? Wow,
what type of training do you offer those chiefs? Are
any chief of that matter when they come in here
and they say, well, I'm new chief, I just got
a new chief, what do you offer them?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, first of all, you are the chief school that
we call.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
We actually revamped the curriculum about four years ago.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So when I came here in the early twenty twenty
medical staff.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And we actually did some surveys and we met with
the staff down at the Georgia Public Training which.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Public take the training center and their curriculum development people.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
And actually get a complete review of everything we're teaching,
looking at what's relevant, what are we missing if anything,
So what do we need to bring in the class?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Would we need to take out of the class.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
So we revamped the heavy stand there.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
But you know, I'll just kind of go over the Yeah, yeah,
I'm interesting to knowing is you know some.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Of the titles of the courses, and we have various
chiefs across the state that come in and.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Volunteer their time to actually provide this training. Oh great, So.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
You know the first thing they do is they have
a SWAT analysis and basically that he is a look
at your agencies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And then we have a class called the Office and
Role of the Chief of Police. We have a very
experienced chief of the teams that have.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
A lot of leadership and personnel classes. Developing your own people,
political practical realities, do what your career can.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Handle, hiring, directing the hiring process, community relationships, developing policies.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Budgeting of course. Yes, yes, we have representatives of the.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
George Peace Officers Standers and Training Council actually come in
and explain what they do. Men spending about pretty a
part of one day on managerial liability and.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
As a chief, you know, that's what he gets their
gray hairs.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
We have a section on open records, UH state certification,
media relations, resources, risk management, leadership and the management role
of the chief.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Got a collection in the usage, legislative.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
Updates, executive hours, social media, conflict resolution, and evaluating and
documenting employee performance.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Now that's all combined for sixty hours.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
And the course actually the chiefs have to pass a post.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Test are written risk tests there Russians are written. They
do on the computer, but they have to have a
passing score to actually get credit for this class.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
How long does the how long does that lasting every year?
They have to do the same thing or okay.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Basically once in a career.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Okay, okay, and we are so if.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
You are a chief right now, you're appointed the chief
by your city or county, you have.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
To attend Chief School PTA. What's interesting is this isn't just.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
You know, police chiefs in municipal and county police departments
out of the GBI head of the Georgia State Patrol,
they had a Georgia Post Council. You know, those are
actually police chiefs of their entities. So they actually come
to the chief school as well if they're not already
trained in this course. And we also offer that course
(09:25):
to command staff members, so agencies across the state are
sending command staff members. They're getting the exact same training.
And it's part of you know, succession management. You gives
you that next level of leaders ready to become chiefs.
In that way, they learned this and they have the
experience and once they become appointed that they already have
(09:49):
the class, they don't have to retake it.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So this is yeah, you know, this one time shot
and that's it. Now the twenty hours they have to
get every year again, that's every single year. Yeah, I
invarya believe we'll have a key chiefs for some reason
or no, either scheduling, illness or something along those lines,
might not get the entire twenty hours.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
If we take your credit that they are required, and
if that's the case, they actually position and imply it
with Post council. For an extension. They may have to
go explain why they need to get that training, and
then they have to make up that training.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
So and that's the other thing that we do here
is we are basically responsible for and keep the training
records of all police chiefs in the city.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So the Georgia Association of Chiefs the Police is very important,
very important. Well, I mean we think so, yeah, yes,
sure again, it's one of the.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Few cases there that an association is mandated.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Stay, well, you know the law doesn't say go get
your training, chief, make sure as you saive level training.
It's specifically say you must obtain that training from the Georgia.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Association Chiefs and Bulliefs.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
It's great, and it specifically states that that GACP must
approve or provide that annual training as well.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Well, now you have a convention twice a year, you say, correct,
and you've got one coming up in Savannah soon. What
does that convention do that all the chiefs come together
That people think, well, chiefs just come together and talk
police business and talk tell police stories out. But we
do a lot more than that.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
We will be down to.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Savannah and slash rolls in probably in September thirteenth, we'll
start having too many meetings on the fifteenth, but I'm
sorry at fourteenth, but fifteenth.
Speaker 7 (11:44):
Through the eighteenth is one of the conventional you know,
the conference, we provide up the day quality training.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
And what's the interesting you've got our conferences as opposed to.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Other conferences, is that we provide a variety of training.
So there's really no physical way that anyone attendee can
obtain all the training for every class that's going on,
because we have multiple classes going on at the same time,
(12:19):
different topics.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
That there might be a topic that's talked about.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
In the morning and also might be an afternoon session
of one hour or two hour block, but if you achieve,
may not be interested in that topic, they don't want
to go to another topic.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So typically what we end up having is acquiring anywhere
from fifteen to eighteen hours of training over a course two.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
And a half three days that typically has twenty seven
different topics.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Provided in forty four different course by settings.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
So you know you have a variety.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You know you're not going to be able to get
it all.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
You're going to come a walk away with up to
date quality of training and that's what really counts because
the chief, I would say, being a cheap now.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Is probably harder than Edgar has been afore take several
chief has to manage multiple things. You know, it's not
just the department.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
It's not just the crime.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
It's the relationships with the community, relationships with the elective officials.
It's a quality of luck issues and things like that.
It's not just cut and dry spotting the calls for.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Service, right.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
And this convention do you do the same thing with
the other convention. It's a little different.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
It is really about the same. We do not have
an awards ceremony.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
We our We have an election for our for or
vice president at the full conference, who the winner of
that will be installed on the board at the awards launching. Okay,
And so that that's probably the biggest change between.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Our spring and in our Fall convention.
Speaker 8 (14:07):
So basically there gets the same format, though you'll still
have a multitude of classes.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
And you know, the one thing that it's not my back,
it's not just the classes, you know.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
I mean you can sit there and there's there's a
big prevalence of taking things online virtue, you know, I
think there's a you know, some value to that, but
these chiefs get so much interacting with the joke sitting
across the table during lunch, during breaks, or even during class.
You know, well, yeah, I heard about that problem you're having,
(14:42):
but I have a similar problem.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
This is what I did that is even that invaluable.
And that's what we try to do.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Here at chief School and in our district meetings and
our conferences is bring the chiefe to together and make
sure they get that networking.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
So so value you mentioned earlier. The chiefs are you know,
learned about public relations? Talk about that a little bit
because people, you know, people, the people that have listened
to the show that are all publicly they are people,
they're the people of the citizens of the cities. Talk
about what the chief just to learn about this public relations?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Well, what we do in our fields. We actually have
a t report our members of the media. Actually enough
of those classes.
Speaker 9 (15:24):
And uh, you know until very recently and you retired,
but ringing Travis and they could have gotten those classes
for the last twenty years and uh, you know, Foscifer,
that's a good report.
Speaker 8 (15:37):
So they will talk about, you know, how to deal
with the media, you know, and they would actually go
through some scenarios and then we have to you know.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Provide a racious question that at press office. And I
think it's apport to have very good relations with the media,
you know, it is if you.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Have that, if you're above board, if you're transparent, and
that shows I think that's going to improve community relations.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Yeah, I guess too. Have you noticed it changed the
last couple of years or anything like that since you
were the chief?
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Well, I mean I left in November of twenty nineteen,
and of course we all know what happened until that point, right,
And as I said, the thing was.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
A very difficult time for law enforcement across the nation.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Demonstrations and criticisms of law enforcement chiefs, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
All across the board.
Speaker 10 (16:38):
And I think you know that whatever misinformation there may
have been out there, but there was a lack of
communication from both sides, and so that has really changed
for police chiefs, and I think they realized they need
to be.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
You know, on top of their game with that, they
need to be out in front because you know what
they what do they tell you the social media.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
If you don't reach out to the citizens, you don't
reach out to the media with what happened or what
your story is or version is. You know, everybody's got
to sell down.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Everybody has Facebook, social media, that message.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
We'll go around the world twice before you even get
out the front of the order, and by that time
it's really too length to respond.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I've noticed too that the police chiefs, the chief police
chiefs and police period on some occasions they can't tell
you things. They have to hold back, and people don't
understand that. So you have to tell a pay and.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
You know it goes to you know, even like an
officer of all incident or something like that is well,
first of all, you know the officer employees has rights
as well.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
But when you go looking to a.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Criminal act, you know, we can't release all the information
out because the only person that really knows what happened
there is the suspect, right so we release all that
information right now that that could attaint or you know,
delay the.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Effectiveness of the investigation. So I don't think it's really
where where you know, chiefs and departments just want to
stonewall everybody. But I think there are certain things that if.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
They release, then it's going to be harder to track
down the suspect.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
I agree with you one hundred percent on that definitely.
Now you also have other types of memberships, not just
for the chiefs, but other people as well.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
You talk about them too.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Well, you know, But of course we have you know,
chief contecutives. So you're a head of a law enforcement
agency or.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Union within the State of Georgia, you know, you become
a member.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
We have command staff membership and so you're not the chief,
but you're captain or higher at the police department.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
We have professional memberships. You can be retired or be
involved in law force at any level. We have corporate
memberships as well. We have life memberships that are basically
if a chief has been a member of our association
or it actually has been in law.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Enforcement at least twenty years, it has been a chief
in the State of Georgia for at least eight years,
and they retire, then they're eligible to apply for life
membership and we usually process I will probably stay close
to maybe eight, nine ten of those requests a year.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
And what's interesting is we still have retire chiefs coming
to the conferences.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Oh really, because they want to.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Say that they want to network and they are full
of a wealth of information that they can share, especially
with these younger chiefs.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Do you have individuals like persons, people off the street,
whoever can be a member or not.
Speaker 6 (19:48):
We have.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Some that you know, if you're a CJ student or
if you are interested in you who've done an associate.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Members We have a few of far between of those
type of memberships.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
I guess, just be kind of careful with those.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
You know, there's a lot of information that we possess
and that we share, and you know, most of the
time you have to have some type of law enforcement nexus.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Right becoming how many members you have?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Approximate police and roughly sixteen wow, and probably about close
to seven hundred of those are police chiefs.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
How many you probably don't know this. How many places
in the state can there be a police chief? How many?
How many cities are the entities? That's right, entities yet, Well,
what we look at is.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
How many law enforcement eightieses in an eighteency can be
able by a city police department. It can be a
fire departments, are some investigation unit that has law enforcement powers,
could be.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
The Department of Revenue, Department of Drivers Service case name it.
Roughly about seven hundred those and so you take out
one hundred and fifty nine of those county shriffs. By
the way, county sheriffs do not have to get their
training for Alans. They have very much training regiment. They're
stilled to get twenty hours a year, but not through us.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
But we do have several sheriffs departments or offices that
send their command staff to our Chief.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
School oh Man.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
So that's amazing. Where can people go to find out
more information about.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
You go to the website GA Chiefs dot com and
you can see what we do.
Speaker 11 (21:40):
You know, a couple of other fail areas that we
work on is we manage the Georgia Law Enforcement Certification
Program and where the individual agencies can apply for state
certification and.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
It's a program similar to National Accreditation COOLIA.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
There's approximately one hundred forty one standards for best policing practices.
An agency can apply and they'll have up to three
years to work on getting their policies and procedures square
away so that they meet those particular standards and when
they feel.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
They're ready, that will actually send an assessment team out
there to look at their policies in with at their
department and.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Once that occurs, it goes to two different committees within
our association that we will look at three poor and
they can either pass or not pass, or prove don't
prove the state's certification request. Right now, we have probably
close to one hundred.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
And sixty n seventy agencies.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
Out of all those we talked about again as a
completely voluntary program.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
We have some large agencies that are not serviified at all.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
We have some small agencies that are certified, and we
have several agencies like Puente County.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
That are certified through Kolya or.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Through the Stay and accredited through KOLIA. So you know
that that's a program that we're working hard.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
The other thing we also do is we assist cities
and counties on running a commotional process of UH for people.
Speaker 12 (23:19):
To rank a corporal on up and that's just a
way of not doing it in the house, out of city,
just having a third party like jac provided for them.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
And we also helped cities out and they're searching for
a new chief.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So I just want to ask you and it happens.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
For more a new thing.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
And you know it's I think you know with the
average tenure of the police chief is probably somewhere in
there for the three to five years.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Uh. There are some that's that that spend decades there,
and of course there are others that they spend a
lot less time there. So we continue to run to school.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Uh and.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
You know the kind of thing. We also help out, Uh,
cities that are looking for an anim chief.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Okay, let's seat of have a chief that's going to retire,
but they need some time to select that next chief.
But they need somebody to you know, manage the agency.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
For a few months. And we assisted in those cities,
we'll find interim chief.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
What about new cities, new streets coming along, decide they
need police seats, I come to as well. I guess
they probably yeah, I mean yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
They'll actually come to us and and uh, you know,
we we actually can do some studies.
Speaker 7 (24:42):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
You know, if you're looking at starting a police department,
we can do a review agents what I call agency reviews.
You know, does the city want a police apartment? If so,
you know, what would he entailed to start with? We've
done reviews for various agencies as far as take come
intail of their processes and procedures and policies to see.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Where they can produce those very often Part two three
times a year.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Well, scuse, I appreciate your time to day, good to
see you, appreciate you having me today. I've got and
uh sir, everybody's going to enjoy the information. Thank you
very much. The worst that's butch Airs, executive director of
the Georgia Association.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Of Police Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
You can look them up at GA Chiefs dot com.
For questions or comments about today's program, you can email me,
John Clark at Georgianusnetwork dot com. Thanks for listening. I'll
talk to you next week right here on your favorite
local radio station on Georgia Focus
Welcome to Georgia Focus. I'm John Clark on the Georgia
and Use Network. The Georgia Association the Police Chiefs has
grown in membership, influence, and professionalism to become one of
the most respected law enforcement associations in the state. It's
the largest professional association for law enforcement administrators in Georgia
and one of the largest in the country. Today we're
talking with its executive director. But airs, well, it's good
a sea chief. I call you chief if you were
(00:33):
at county for so long.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I spent total thirty five years at Wyne County PD,
made four to the end of twenty nineteen. The last
five years I said as chief.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
See, yeah, people still call you chief. Okay. I found
it to be weird.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, I'm sull retired chief, and nationally I'm interested. I was.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
I was officially retired for about six weeks and then
I started this job here.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
As the executive director of the Georgian Association of Chiefs
of the Beliefs. That's great problem. I'm really, you know,
dealing with the same people that I know that the
professional I care a lot about. I'm just kind of
doing it from.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
A different anima. Yes, what is it different. What is
different about it from being on this one on the
one side being members and then now you've being the
executive director. What is what is it about now that
you tell police officers or police chiefs this should be
a member? What should what are members do now?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Well, what we tell chiefs is that nobody knows what
you're going through.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
It's some other chiefs.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
And we have a wide diversity of members across the state.
We have agencies that are one officer agencies and that's
whole chief.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah. Then we have all with the City of Atlanta,
you know, two thousand bus people. We have state agencies,
rural urban agencies that have.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
A lot of or i should say a well funded
property tax base, and others that are struggling just to
put gas in the cars. And you know, part of
our job here is is to provide the training for
police chiefs across the state and we are mandated by
the Georgia Law.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
OCBA to actually do that.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
So anybody that comes becomes a chief and they have
to come to over the first scheduled or first available
what we'll call is Chief School Chiefs Executive Training program
that we put on here and that's a sixty hour
Monday through Thursday, Earth week Monday through Thursday to second week.
We provide them with the basics of what they need
(02:39):
to know as sr as being the chief, we run
about five other sessions a year.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
And then the other thing that.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Georgia law requires that we do, actually requires all police chiefs,
is they have to attain twenty hours of executive level.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Training every year.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
And that training either has to be provided by our
association or approved by our association.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
And it's like all officers across the state, everybody.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Has to there at least twenty hours in but the
chiefs it's executive training, and failure to get that training
every year, the chief will lose their looser powers of
the racks and they'll have to approach posts and request
a waiter to have to read state it.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
So, yeah, we stay busy.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
That that is our bready butter ear sour speed. They
here at the Association is providing train.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
For the chiefs.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
So it was it was meant for you to be
in this role because what you did before is chief,
you know what they're experiencing, you know what they're doing.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Yeah, it's you know, I guess I saw from the
aspect of a large agency, they have a lot of resources,
and then going out.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
And talking to some chiefs, some smaller agencies, you know,
they don't have a staff, they don't.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Have a command staff or a lot of resources to
handle some of the things that they're handling.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
So, you know, I can impart what I've learned and
county with others, but I'm also learning a lot from
other chiefs across the.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Stateum, what are some of those small groups? Tell you
that they just clid out for help or something like that,
they're taking the help they can get.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Well, it's you know, they of course have a much
smaller buddet than than larger Metro Atlanta the agencies at
but then again, you know they have fewer citizens, they
have fewer crimes, they have fewer populations.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Ever, but what we tell Cheese is.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Basically, no matter who you are, where you are in
the state, whether you're one officers department or your two
thousand officer department, you are going.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
To face the same types of issues.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
It's at a different stand Yeah, And no matter where
you're a chief at, you still have to follow that
same constitution of the United States, the same constitution of
the State of Georgia and so found. It's more of
a challenge, you know for the chiefs at the smaller
agencies to get that time allway they that training or
taking that train because.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You know they're the one of us family with the
calls here.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
That's true, that's true. Well, that's gonna be.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Tough, that is. And you know as a chief, you know,
the chief is.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
The policy maker of agency and you have policies and
procedures and then everybody else is a excuse the tournament
policy follower, right, and you know there's different connotations and
responsibilities on accountabilities that come with that. So we have
several agencies out here now, but that the chief is
(05:37):
one working.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Therec one who want to call the one working the
henine uh in the dog and they don't.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Have you know, a staff to the lives right right? Wow,
what type of training do you offer those chiefs? Are
any chief of that matter when they come in here
and they say, well, I'm new chief, I just got
a new chief, what do you offer them?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, first of all, you are the chief school that
we call.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
We actually revamped the curriculum about four years ago.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
So when I came here in the early twenty twenty
medical staff.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And we actually did some surveys and we met with
the staff down at the Georgia Public Training which.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Public take the training center and their curriculum development people.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
And actually get a complete review of everything we're teaching,
looking at what's relevant, what are we missing if anything,
So what do we need to bring in the class?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Would we need to take out of the class.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
So we revamped the heavy stand there.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
But you know, I'll just kind of go over the Yeah, yeah,
I'm interesting to knowing is you know some.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
Of the titles of the courses, and we have various
chiefs across the state that come in and.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Volunteer their time to actually provide this training. Oh great, So.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
You know the first thing they do is they have
a SWAT analysis and basically that he is a look
at your agencies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And then we have a class called the Office and
Role of the Chief of Police. We have a very
experienced chief of the teams that have.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
A lot of leadership and personnel classes. Developing your own people,
political practical realities, do what your career can.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Handle, hiring, directing the hiring process, community relationships, developing policies.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Budgeting of course. Yes, yes, we have representatives of the.
Speaker 5 (07:36):
George Peace Officers Standers and Training Council actually come in
and explain what they do. Men spending about pretty a
part of one day on managerial liability and.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
As a chief, you know, that's what he gets their
gray hairs.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
We have a section on open records, UH state certification,
media relations, resources, risk management, leadership and the management role
of the chief.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Got a collection in the usage, legislative.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
Updates, executive hours, social media, conflict resolution, and evaluating and
documenting employee performance.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Now that's all combined for sixty hours.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
And the course actually the chiefs have to pass a post.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Test are written risk tests there Russians are written. They
do on the computer, but they have to have a
passing score to actually get credit for this class.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
How long does the how long does that lasting every year?
They have to do the same thing or okay.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Basically once in a career.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Okay, okay, and we are so if.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
You are a chief right now, you're appointed the chief
by your city or county, you have.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
To attend Chief School PTA. What's interesting is this isn't just.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
You know, police chiefs in municipal and county police departments
out of the GBI head of the Georgia State Patrol,
they had a Georgia Post Council. You know, those are
actually police chiefs of their entities. So they actually come
to the chief school as well if they're not already
trained in this course. And we also offer that course
(09:25):
to command staff members, so agencies across the state are
sending command staff members. They're getting the exact same training.
And it's part of you know, succession management. You gives
you that next level of leaders ready to become chiefs.
In that way, they learned this and they have the
experience and once they become appointed that they already have
(09:49):
the class, they don't have to retake it.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
So this is yeah, you know, this one time shot
and that's it. Now the twenty hours they have to
get every year again, that's every single year. Yeah, I
invarya believe we'll have a key chiefs for some reason
or no, either scheduling, illness or something along those lines,
might not get the entire twenty hours.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
If we take your credit that they are required, and
if that's the case, they actually position and imply it
with Post council. For an extension. They may have to
go explain why they need to get that training, and
then they have to make up that training.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
So and that's the other thing that we do here
is we are basically responsible for and keep the training
records of all police chiefs in the city.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So the Georgia Association of Chiefs the Police is very important,
very important. Well, I mean we think so, yeah, yes,
sure again, it's one of the.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Few cases there that an association is mandated.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Stay, well, you know the law doesn't say go get
your training, chief, make sure as you saive level training.
It's specifically say you must obtain that training from the Georgia.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Association Chiefs and Bulliefs.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
It's great, and it specifically states that that GACP must
approve or provide that annual training as well.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Well, now you have a convention twice a year, you say, correct,
and you've got one coming up in Savannah soon. What
does that convention do that all the chiefs come together
That people think, well, chiefs just come together and talk
police business and talk tell police stories out. But we
do a lot more than that.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
We will be down to.
Speaker 6 (11:33):
Savannah and slash rolls in probably in September thirteenth, we'll
start having too many meetings on the fifteenth, but I'm
sorry at fourteenth, but fifteenth.
Speaker 7 (11:44):
Through the eighteenth is one of the conventional you know,
the conference, we provide up the day quality training.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
And what's the interesting you've got our conferences as opposed to.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
Other conferences, is that we provide a variety of training.
So there's really no physical way that anyone attendee can
obtain all the training for every class that's going on,
because we have multiple classes going on at the same time,
(12:19):
different topics.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
That there might be a topic that's talked about.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
In the morning and also might be an afternoon session
of one hour or two hour block, but if you achieve,
may not be interested in that topic, they don't want
to go to another topic.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So typically what we end up having is acquiring anywhere
from fifteen to eighteen hours of training over a course two.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
And a half three days that typically has twenty seven
different topics.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Provided in forty four different course by settings.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
So you know you have a variety.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You know you're not going to be able to get
it all.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
You're going to come a walk away with up to
date quality of training and that's what really counts because
the chief, I would say, being a cheap now.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Is probably harder than Edgar has been afore take several
chief has to manage multiple things. You know, it's not
just the department.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
It's not just the crime.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
It's the relationships with the community, relationships with the elective officials.
It's a quality of luck issues and things like that.
It's not just cut and dry spotting the calls for.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Service, right.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
And this convention do you do the same thing with
the other convention. It's a little different.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
It is really about the same. We do not have
an awards ceremony.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
We our We have an election for our for or
vice president at the full conference, who the winner of
that will be installed on the board at the awards launching. Okay,
And so that that's probably the biggest change between.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Our spring and in our Fall convention.
Speaker 8 (14:07):
So basically there gets the same format, though you'll still
have a multitude of classes.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
And you know, the one thing that it's not my back,
it's not just the classes, you know.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
I mean you can sit there and there's there's a
big prevalence of taking things online virtue, you know, I
think there's a you know, some value to that, but
these chiefs get so much interacting with the joke sitting
across the table during lunch, during breaks, or even during class.
You know, well, yeah, I heard about that problem you're having,
(14:42):
but I have a similar problem.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
This is what I did that is even that invaluable.
And that's what we try to do.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Here at chief School and in our district meetings and
our conferences is bring the chiefe to together and make
sure they get that networking.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
So so value you mentioned earlier. The chiefs are you know,
learned about public relations? Talk about that a little bit
because people, you know, people, the people that have listened
to the show that are all publicly they are people,
they're the people of the citizens of the cities. Talk
about what the chief just to learn about this public relations?
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Well, what we do in our fields. We actually have
a t report our members of the media. Actually enough
of those classes.
Speaker 9 (15:24):
And uh, you know until very recently and you retired,
but ringing Travis and they could have gotten those classes
for the last twenty years and uh, you know, Foscifer,
that's a good report.
Speaker 8 (15:37):
So they will talk about, you know, how to deal
with the media, you know, and they would actually go
through some scenarios and then we have to you know.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Provide a racious question that at press office. And I
think it's apport to have very good relations with the media,
you know, it is if you.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
Have that, if you're above board, if you're transparent, and
that shows I think that's going to improve community relations.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Yeah, I guess too. Have you noticed it changed the
last couple of years or anything like that since you
were the chief?
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Well, I mean I left in November of twenty nineteen,
and of course we all know what happened until that point, right,
And as I said, the thing was.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
A very difficult time for law enforcement across the nation.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Demonstrations and criticisms of law enforcement chiefs, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
All across the board.
Speaker 10 (16:38):
And I think you know that whatever misinformation there may
have been out there, but there was a lack of
communication from both sides, and so that has really changed
for police chiefs, and I think they realized they need
to be.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
You know, on top of their game with that, they
need to be out in front because you know what
they what do they tell you the social media.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
If you don't reach out to the citizens, you don't
reach out to the media with what happened or what
your story is or version is. You know, everybody's got
to sell down.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Everybody has Facebook, social media, that message.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
We'll go around the world twice before you even get
out the front of the order, and by that time
it's really too length to respond.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I've noticed too that the police chiefs, the chief police
chiefs and police period on some occasions they can't tell
you things. They have to hold back, and people don't
understand that. So you have to tell a pay and.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
You know it goes to you know, even like an
officer of all incident or something like that is well,
first of all, you know the officer employees has rights
as well.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
But when you go looking to a.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Criminal act, you know, we can't release all the information
out because the only person that really knows what happened
there is the suspect, right so we release all that
information right now that that could attaint or you know,
delay the.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Effectiveness of the investigation. So I don't think it's really
where where you know, chiefs and departments just want to
stonewall everybody. But I think there are certain things that if.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
They release, then it's going to be harder to track
down the suspect.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
I agree with you one hundred percent on that definitely.
Now you also have other types of memberships, not just
for the chiefs, but other people as well.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
You talk about them too.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Well, you know, But of course we have you know,
chief contecutives. So you're a head of a law enforcement
agency or.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Union within the State of Georgia, you know, you become
a member.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
We have command staff membership and so you're not the chief,
but you're captain or higher at the police department.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
We have professional memberships. You can be retired or be
involved in law force at any level. We have corporate
memberships as well. We have life memberships that are basically
if a chief has been a member of our association
or it actually has been in law.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Enforcement at least twenty years, it has been a chief
in the State of Georgia for at least eight years,
and they retire, then they're eligible to apply for life
membership and we usually process I will probably stay close
to maybe eight, nine ten of those requests a year.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
And what's interesting is we still have retire chiefs coming
to the conferences.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Oh really, because they want to.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Say that they want to network and they are full
of a wealth of information that they can share, especially
with these younger chiefs.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Do you have individuals like persons, people off the street,
whoever can be a member or not.
Speaker 6 (19:48):
We have.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Some that you know, if you're a CJ student or
if you are interested in you who've done an associate.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Members We have a few of far between of those
type of memberships.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
I guess, just be kind of careful with those.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
You know, there's a lot of information that we possess
and that we share, and you know, most of the
time you have to have some type of law enforcement nexus.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Right becoming how many members you have?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Approximate police and roughly sixteen wow, and probably about close
to seven hundred of those are police chiefs.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
How many you probably don't know this. How many places
in the state can there be a police chief? How many?
How many cities are the entities? That's right, entities yet, Well,
what we look at is.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
How many law enforcement eightieses in an eighteency can be
able by a city police department. It can be a
fire departments, are some investigation unit that has law enforcement powers,
could be.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
The Department of Revenue, Department of Drivers Service case name it.
Roughly about seven hundred those and so you take out
one hundred and fifty nine of those county shriffs. By
the way, county sheriffs do not have to get their
training for Alans. They have very much training regiment. They're
stilled to get twenty hours a year, but not through us.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
But we do have several sheriffs departments or offices that
send their command staff to our Chief.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
School oh Man.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
So that's amazing. Where can people go to find out
more information about.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
You go to the website GA Chiefs dot com and
you can see what we do.
Speaker 11 (21:40):
You know, a couple of other fail areas that we
work on is we manage the Georgia Law Enforcement Certification
Program and where the individual agencies can apply for state
certification and.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
It's a program similar to National Accreditation COOLIA.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
There's approximately one hundred forty one standards for best policing practices.
An agency can apply and they'll have up to three
years to work on getting their policies and procedures square
away so that they meet those particular standards and when
they feel.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
They're ready, that will actually send an assessment team out
there to look at their policies in with at their
department and.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Once that occurs, it goes to two different committees within
our association that we will look at three poor and
they can either pass or not pass, or prove don't
prove the state's certification request. Right now, we have probably
close to one hundred.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
And sixty n seventy agencies.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
Out of all those we talked about again as a
completely voluntary program.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
We have some large agencies that are not serviified at all.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
We have some small agencies that are certified, and we
have several agencies like Puente County.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
That are certified through Kolya or.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Through the Stay and accredited through KOLIA. So you know
that that's a program that we're working hard.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
The other thing we also do is we assist cities
and counties on running a commotional process of UH for people.
Speaker 12 (23:19):
To rank a corporal on up and that's just a
way of not doing it in the house, out of city,
just having a third party like jac provided for them.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
And we also helped cities out and they're searching for
a new chief.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
So I just want to ask you and it happens.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
For more a new thing.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
And you know it's I think you know with the
average tenure of the police chief is probably somewhere in
there for the three to five years.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Uh. There are some that's that that spend decades there,
and of course there are others that they spend a
lot less time there. So we continue to run to school.
Speaker 6 (24:00):
Uh and.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
You know the kind of thing. We also help out, Uh,
cities that are looking for an anim chief.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Okay, let's seat of have a chief that's going to retire,
but they need some time to select that next chief.
But they need somebody to you know, manage the agency.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
For a few months. And we assisted in those cities,
we'll find interim chief.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
What about new cities, new streets coming along, decide they
need police seats, I come to as well. I guess
they probably yeah, I mean yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
They'll actually come to us and and uh, you know,
we we actually can do some studies.
Speaker 7 (24:42):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
You know, if you're looking at starting a police department,
we can do a review agents what I call agency reviews.
You know, does the city want a police apartment? If so,
you know, what would he entailed to start with? We've
done reviews for various agencies as far as take come
intail of their processes and procedures and policies to see.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Where they can produce those very often Part two three
times a year.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Well, scuse, I appreciate your time to day, good to
see you, appreciate you having me today. I've got and
uh sir, everybody's going to enjoy the information. Thank you
very much. The worst that's butch Airs, executive director of
the Georgia Association.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
Of Police Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
You can look them up at GA Chiefs dot com.
For questions or comments about today's program, you can email me,
John Clark at Georgianusnetwork dot com. Thanks for listening. I'll
talk to you next week right here on your favorite
local radio station on Georgia Focus
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