Gov. Nathan Deal scored big with his announcement Thursday of a 20 percent pay raise for state law enforcement officers. But some civil rights activists say his accompanying plan to enhance police training falls short of addressing the rift between police and the black community.
“The reality is that it’s window dressing,” said Atlanta NAACP president Richard Rose.
Deal's package of proposals aims to reward officers as well as address calls for meaningful police reforms. That's a difficult balance to strike in the often polarized world of police-community relations.
Widespread praise greeted the $79 million plan for pay raises, with many agreeing the increases were long overdue for the poorly paid officers. But the raises, which require legislative approval, only apply to the 3,300 state law enforcement officers such as the state patrol, GBI, and the departments of juvenile justice, corrections and natural resources.
"They face the adversity, they should be properly compensated," said Frank Rotondo, executive director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.
But some leaders in the black community said Deal’s plan to increase mandatory police training, which applies to officers across the state, accomplishes little to address the fractured relationship between police and the black community. Those problems have dominated the news for two years.
Tensions grew over the summer following a string of police-related shootings, angry protests and the assassinations of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La.
Deal’s proposal adds four hours to the 20 hours of annual training now required for sworn officers to keep their arrest powers. Two of those hours would focus on use-of-force training and tactics to de-escalate hostile situations. Officers can pick among courses on fostering community relations and cultural competency in policing for the two other hours.
Rose, the Atlanta NAACP head, said four hours is “absolutely not enough time” to address issues that have created a divide between police and many black communities. He said Deal needs to do more to “admit the effects of racism” in policing.
“You have to have the acknowledgement before you have the healing,” Rose said.
State Rep. Roger Bruce, D-Atlanta, said that while he believes police in Georgia "in general do a great job," he believes that entire curriculums should be created to address the issues surrounding police and the black community.
“There is a need for the police to be able to identify with the community they serve,” he said.
A First Step
Some civil rights advocates saw the governor moving in the right direction.
"He obviously is being affected by the things happening post Ferguson, and (is) recognizing the need to restore public confidence in law enforcement," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta.
Deal, for his part, has said the increase in continuing education is not a reaction to the high-profile incidents across the country. But he said it reflected the new challenges police face on the streets.
“We want our law enforcement officers to be the best trained they can be, because we know that similar situations will always confront them,” Deal said.
The governor’s plans won’t create wholesale change in Georgia policing, said Dean Dabney, a Georgia State University associate professor of criminology and criminal justice.
Many of the officers who would receive the pay raises are not the first responders who encounter most Georgians. The raises don’t apply to the thousands of other city and county police in the state, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.
“This isn’t going to produce dramatic results,” Dabney said. “But hopefully it’s a start.”
Officers Underpaid
Some law enforcement officials, especially in lower-paying rural areas, worry that they will now lose officers to the state because of the raises. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said it’s already difficult for rural sheriffs and police chiefs to recruit and retain officers. While he does not begrudge the state officers their raises, he worries that it will make a bad situation worse.
“Our officers are woefully underpaid,” said Sills, an official with the Georgia Sheriffs Association. “We are going to lose officers, and we can’t hire officers.”
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials, for their part, welcomed the added training.
DeKalb Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander lauded the governor’s emphasis on de-escalation. Several of the police shootings nationally began with a simple traffic stop.
“This is the trend across the country,” said Alexander, a member of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Additional Lessons
Without more details on the new training, it’s unclear how far it extends beyond what is already taught to police officers.
Rotondo of the chief’s association, having been briefed on the plans, said that while the existing training included some instruction on use of force, that training will now be coupled with tactics in de-escalating situations. Also, the training will place a greater emphasis on honing an officer’s interpersonal skills with the public, such as knowing when to act authoritative.
Atlanta Police Department officials noted they have been teaching cultural diversity for over a decade.
“The governor’s bill simply brought everyone on line,” said APD spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy.
Cobb County Sgt. Dana Pierce said the county has long stressed the appropriate use of force, de-escalation and cultural sensitivity in its police academy and ongoing training. Still, he said the department welcomes some additional lessons.
“You’re never too old to learn, especially in terms of today’s environment,” Pierce said.
Doing The Possible
By adding a few extra training hours, Deal may be doing what is possible, said Dabney, the associate professor. Many police already feel under scrutiny and may become defensive if ordered into long stretches of “cultural competency” training, he said. Mandating just a few hours makes the plan more palatable, he said.
Rotondo, of the police chiefs organization, added that many departments, especially the smaller ones, can’t afford to lose officers for long stretches of training time, as that leaves them short-staffed.
“(The plan) might have been resisted if he added large blocks of mandatory training,” Rotondo said.
Deal also wants to expand the state’s Crisis Intervention Training program, which trains officers to handle crises involving people with mental illnesses. That training would be voluntary.
Moreover, the governor hinted that more reforms may come. He said he wants to create a task force to review police training regimens and recommend improvements.
“It would be foolish to think things will change overnight,” Dabney said. “The question is whether there is the political will and the cultural will to pursue an incremental approach. Will we sustain this?”
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