In today’s ever-changing landscape, police chiefs are confronted with numerous challenges that demand effective leadership and a commitment to accountability. By drawing lessons from a range of situations from community engagement initiatives to how to handling peaceful, public protests for civil and human rights, as well as disruptive protests, the Atlanta, Georgia, Police Department (APD) offers practical insights for law enforcement executives, centered on promoting accountability, community engagement and trust, and effective leadership. The mission of the APD is to build trust in partnership with the communities it serves while also ensuring the safety of the city’s residents. Every day, the people of APD do just that. They are committed to being available to the people of Atlanta and actively involved in the 245 unique communities that make up their great city. APD is focused on being a police department that understands and meets the needs of the people and the city it serves. The positive outcomes associated with APD are evident in the lives it has helped to change through programs offered by APD’s Police Athletic League (PAL), Citizens Police Academy, and Homeless Outreach Prevention and Engagement Team (HOPE Team) and through the agency’s partnerships with the At-Promise Centers and Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD).
APD’s vision for 21st century policing is based on its commitment to continual improvement of its operations; growing public trust among APD officers and people they serve; and maintaining a police force that is committed, constitutional, compassionate, and competent.
The Importance of Accountability
Many police agencies talk about accountability, however it’s important to understand why officers and police leaders need to hold each other responsible. It doesn’t just exist in negative situations; accountability is responsibility throughout each department, precinct, and officer. It starts when the officer is a recruit. Accountability is not just for the officer on the street, it’s shared equally between the agency leadership and the recruit. It lies at the core of effective policing and serves as the foundation for building trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. With accountability, responsible officers build trust in the community they serve.
Accountability helps ensure public confidence in the APD and the officers the public sees every day. When the APD trains officers to go out and serve and protect their city, it would be nice to say that blue uniforms will make them great at what they will do, but at the end of the day it is training—ethical, quality, vital training, over and over—that prepares officers for their jobs. It’s also crucial to recognize that, behind every person who puts on an APD uniform, and says yes to this noble profession, there is a family behind them—both the family that wears the uniform, and the family that supports officers with prayers, a listening ear, and a shoulder of support. During those critical times, when there is a murder suspect loose on the city streets; there’s an active shooter, just blocks from a daycare; or gang violence has spilled into the streets where innocent people have gathered, it’s the family at APD and the family at officers’ homes that will get them through those difficult days and prepare them to come back the next day to make a difference. However, even amid the chaos, it’s vital to remember that the most important thing that the police do when they hit the street is build trust. The only way elected officials and residents can be proud of what their police do is if they have sustained trust in the police department. For the APD, building this trust involves reciprocal relationships that impact the 245 communities that make up the city.
Approach to Peace During Protests
Atlanta is a community built on the principles of peaceful, public protests. The history of such protests goes back generations, featuring most prominently during the civil and human rights demonstrations led by Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Those protests have played a pivotal role in shaping law enforcement practices and policies. As APD’s leadership understands the importance of listening to the concerns and demands of the community, and police personnel work to ensure the safety of all people at a protest, regardless of their stance. Atlanta is a community considered the birthplace of civic and equal justice, a place that encourages getting into “Good Trouble” as coined by the late Congressman John Lewis. But sometimes, especially in recent years, those peaceful demonstrations have been co-opted by groups whose intent is to cause harm to officers and vandalize and destroy property, as well as public places like parks, street beautification projects, and economic centers. APD officers work hard before permitted and planned demonstrators take their first steps to protest. They actively engage with organizers, community leaders, and civil rights organizations and remind them of what’s allowed, as well as informing them to be on the lookout for fringe members or “disruptors” who seek to hijack an otherwise peaceful and lawful protest. This has helped APD successfully cultivate an environment of dialogue and understanding, leading to positive outcomes and improved community-police relations.
Addressing Police Misconduct
The APD believes in tackling police misconduct head-on, taking internal and external complaints seriously and addressing concerns promptly. Across the United States, police misconduct and excessive use of force has fueled public outrage and eroded community trust in many agencies. APD leadership has taken quick and decisive action by implementing comprehensive officer training programs focused on de-escalation techniques, implicit bias, and ethical decision-making. The agency undertakes thorough, impartial investigations of all allegations of officer misconduct and imposes appropriate disciplinary actions for all sustained employee work rules or city ordinance violations. APD strives for consistency in its application of discipline. Whether the violation is a minor infraction or something that rises to another level of discipline, the public and the officers can have faith that it will be taken seriously, no matter who filed the complaint.
APDs 21st Century Policing Vision
Every call is a chance to show the ethical approaches of policing at APD. It’s essential that APD (like all agencies) is focused on being a law enforcement agency that understands and meets the needs of its community members and the city it serves. Additionally, as guardians, the police must meet the people that need them—where they are, not who they are and where they live.
APD’s vision for 21st century policing is based on its commitment to continual improvement of its operations, growing public trust among both officers and community members, as well as maintaining a police force that is committed, constitutional, compassionate, and competent. Without these building blocks of accountability, there is no hope of building trust within the community. Everyone deserves equal protection under the law, regardless of their economic status, belief system, race, gender identity, or any other individual quality. The APD is the great equalizer for the people of its jurisdiction—APD’s approach to law enforcement and crime prevention is an opportunity to show that the law doesn’t fail anybody and to change people’s minds about how they feel about law enforcement.
Community Engagement and Partnership
The APD recognizes that community engagement is vital to effective policing. To actively involve the community in the decision-making processes and seek community members’ input on police misconduct, the city of Atlanta established the Citizen Review Board (ACRB).The ACRB investigates and mediates cases of alleged police misconduct by sworn officers and the department of corrections. This impartial body of community members serves to help ensure the highest level of equality under the law for all people by giving everyone a voice.
To fully engage with the community, the APD has found many innovative ways to connect through partnerships with other city programs or community organizations.
One Safe City
Programs held in partnership with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens have played a pivotal role in APD’s effectiveness in impacting crime and strengthening positive engagements with the community. Mayor Dickens has a balanced, whole-of-government approach to public safety known as “One Safe City.” The plan addresses the root causes of crime while also tackling gangs, guns, and drugs. One of the most recent success stories—for the second summer in a row—is Operation Heat Wave. Operation Heatwave is an intelligence-driven initiative that helps investigators to identify which individuals are likely to commit violent crimes in the city. Data-driven intelligence also identifies what areas of the city are prone to violence. During the 16-week operation, APD in partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies focused on the most violence-prone areas in metro Atlanta. At the end of September 2023, the operation had resulted in 96 arrests, 62 recovered guns, 41 arrested gang members, and 7 gang charges. In comparison to 2022, Operation Heatwave reduced homicides by 24 percent, aggravated assaults by 11 percent, and robberies by 40 percent.
Mayor Dickens also hosted the second year of his Midnight Basketball series. The APD’s Police Athletic League (PAL) participates, and the PAL officers serve as coaches, mentors, and role models, encouraging the youth to make slam dunks on and off the court. The basketball series engages young people ages 18 to 25 from 7 p.m. to midnight at recreation centers in communities with higher percentages of gang activity. Through healthy competition, participants not only learn de-escalation skills, but also have access to services to obtain a GED, find a career path, clear a failure to appear, and even get a free haircut. Statistics showed overall crime was reduced in the areas during Midnight Basketball games.
Policing Alternatives & Diversion
Law enforcement has been the default response to all 911 calls for service, including incidents involving individuals experiencing crises related to behavioral health disorders or intellectual and developmental disabilities. To truly achieve the vision of reducing unnecessary detention for Atlantans, it is critical to have a robust crisis system of care and diversionary strategies to provide support and ensure public safety. APD works closely with the existing mobile diversion services provided by Grady Health System and the Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD). They are available to assist with nonemergency concerns related to mental health, substance use, or extreme poverty.
The APD’s goal is not to incarcerate those experiencing mental illness, substance abuse, or poverty. Currently, PAD provides pre-arrest diversion services to law enforcement through mobile response teams Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-7 p.m. PAD, in partnership with the City of Atlanta, is currently working to expand this important work to provide 24-hour services and, in turn, significantly increase the number of people who are connected to supportive services rather than incarceration. The 24/7 Diversion Center is an alternative to arresting people who have been detained for law violations driven by extreme poverty, unmet mental health needs, and substance use. A range of services and resources are available to meet people’s needs, including clothing, food, showers, case management, and legal assistance. The Diversion Center will also include a sobering center, medical screenings, and on-site appointments with other service providers. Additionally, the 24/7 Diversion Center will also free up officers’ time and resources—so that they can continue to combat crime and preserve safety in the city.
More than Just a Badge
Policing has evolved from enforcement to involvement—being involved in the communities that we serve has become the cornerstone of our department. APD has programs such as Secure Neighborhoods and At-Promise that are evidence of its connection to the communities in Atlanta.
Secure Neighborhoods Initiative
APD has long recognized that officers must have firsthand knowledge of the people and neighborhoods that they protect and serve. The APD’s partnership with the Atlanta Police Foundation allows officers to be a part of the Secure Neighborhoods initiative that enables officers to live and work in the city in which they serve. It is broken into three components: the Home Officers Program, Unity Place Recruit Housing, and the Certified Courtesy Officer Program.
The Secure Neighborhood’s Home Officers Program
This element of Secure Neighborhoods provides Atlanta police officers with the opportunity to purchase a home in these neighborhoods at a reduced cost. In return, officers agree to actively patrol their new neighborhoods, participate in community associations and events, and become stalwart members of their communities.
Unity Place Recruit Housing
This apartment complex houses 30 APD Secure Neighborhoods recruits during the six months in which they undergo training at the police academy. It opened in February 2022. The unique program immerses the recruits in the culture of the neighborhoods they are sworn to—showing a commitment to the type of community engagement and understanding that is the aim of the APD.
Certified Courtesy Officer (CCO) Program
The CCO initiative consists of sworn officers who are provided incentives in the form of reduced rent to live in apartments in the city of Atlanta. In return, they perform community service and provide a police presence aimed at deterring crime in apartment communities. With assistance from apartment developers, APD will place 150 CCOs in city apartments over the next three years.
At-Promise
At-Promise is a youth crime diversion program serving youth across the city of Atlanta. Each youth who attends the program receives a therapeutic assessment to determine their individualized plan of services to include GED or education assistance, workforce prep, and/or recreation activities. The At-Promise initiative has been in operation since August 2017 and has served more than 1,700 youth. The services it provides include individual and group therapy; educational assistance, such as tutoring, mentoring, GED classes, testing, and instruction in music and filmmaking; workforce prep; and recreational activities.
All these programs allow APD to be involved, engaged, and active in its communities. The agency is confident that when officers have a personal interest in the city, they serve with compassion, lead with competency, and are committed to their noble profession.
Conclusion
Accountability and leadership are fundamental to effective policing, and APD’s approach to promoting community engagement serves as a model for law enforcement executives. The Atlanta Police Department has showcased its commitment to fostering a transparent, responsive, and accountable police force. There are several strategies and methods that can be used to gain, build, and maintain trust; however, it is important to note that in order to do so, a police department must be flexible and adaptable. Being able to adapt to the ever-changing needs of both officers and the people you serve is paramount; whether it be through the bounce and pass of a basketball or through affordable housing for officers. A department must also be flexible in how it handles arrests by recognizing the root causes of crime. The Atlanta Police Department has learned that protection and safety can be achieved through acts of kindness and active involvement. Additionally, the creation of welcoming environments such as Pops with Cops, can help law enforcement draw circles and not lines, a term used by Mayor Andre Dickens. The power of smiles and handshakes along with popsicles, popcorn, and lollipops can have a lasting impact on a community. d
Please cite as
Darin Schierbaum, “Fostering Engagement and Accountability,” Police Chief Online, October 11, 2023.
