Atlanta Police Dept. Hosts Regional Law Enforcement Leadership Training
ATLANTA, Ga. (CW69 News at 10) -- The Atlanta Police Department hosted a first-of-its kind Regional Leadership Training Conference last week, collaborating with multiple agencies to come up with solutions to recruitment and training challenges. The conference was called the Atlanta Police Leadership Institute (APLI) Regional Executive Command Training.
"Many of us are seeing deficits in our resources. We are now in a position that we really have to rely upon each other even more," said Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant.
Atlanta Police Foundation President and CEO Dave Wilkinson called the initiative a game-changer. "As you can imagine, it's incredibly more and more difficult to hire police officers in this country, and so this is part of what this collaborative is about," he said.
The leadership training comes as demands for police reform continue. Incidents like the George Floyd case, bad management, and low pay have hindered recruitment efforts.
"What the general public is saying is we want our police departments to be more accountable," said speaker and law enforcement veteran Dr. Cedric Alexander.
"The public should be encouraged that the leaders in this room and in the metropolitan area emphasize recruitment and getting the right people," said Clayton County Police Chief Kevin Roberts.
The leaders learned top-level practices to address the issues.
Atlanta officials say plans to open a Public Safety Training Center in October 2023 have helped recruitment efforts.
"Since the announcement of building this training center, recruitment efforts have gone up by almost 30%, resignations have gone down by almost 40%," said Wilkinson.
The same group will meet again for three-day training conferences in February and March.
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