Assistant Executive Director’s Message
(continued)
constituent being recorded by a body camera and made a public record. Other professionals
including doctors performing medical procedures or teachers educating our most precious
resource are not required to be recorded or held accountable for this level of transparency.
Nor are these daily activities assessed by a supervisor or a group of other professionals to
ensure compliance with established standards.
And in true governmental fashion our state and local leaders expect every officer and leader
employed to possess these skills and work in this environment at the lowest bid (salary)
employees will accept. It is important to note the skills and abilities we are seeking in our
officers today are the same that most other employers are seeking. So, the competition for
our workforce is greater than ever. Despite all of this, it is the Chiefs’ responsibility to hold it
all together and keep all the department’s employees engaged.
It is time, for our state and local officials to recognize that having a safe and secure
community is as critical to economic and community development as having a good education
system, and infrastructure (roads, rails, gas, electricity, water, and sewage). Persons are not
going to move their families and businesses to locations where they do not feel safe. If we
wish for our State to continue to grow and prosper economically, communities must have
highly qualified, well-trained police officers and leaders. To accomplish this goal, state and
local leaders must make the financial and political support of our officers an organizational
imperative.
It is time for Georgia’s police agencies to come together to support a ‘brand’ that accurately
represents the positive actions our officers perform daily. This issue will not be
accomplished easily. There are no simple answers to this complex problem, and it will take
years to achieve. However, in solidarity we can create and leave a better profession and
work environment for officers serving our honorable profession for generations to come.
Respectfully,
Dwayne Orrick
Dwayne Orrick
Assistant Executive Director
www.gachiefs.com • Page 5 • 2nd Quarter Newsletter