As part of the nationwide search for a permanent police chief for the Atlanta Police Department, Mayor Andre Dickens is looking for community input to understand the community’s perspective about what to look for in the next chief. Anyone can take the online survey – though your answers might mean more if you are a city of Atlanta resident.
“Effective 21st century policing requires a diverse group of community voices involved in the search for a permanent Police Chief,” said Mayor Dickens. “Building public trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve is a collaborative process, and our Administration wants to ensure that all Atlantans have a seat at the table so we can hear their priorities for policing in Atlanta.”
Some of the questions include ranking the qualifications that are most important in selecting the next chief. There are more than a dozen options to choose from, including “Track record of reducing crime” to “Practices transparency and openness” to “Promotes diversity and gender equity in the workplace.”
The survey also asks what should be the priorities for the next chief, ranging from “Crime reduction” to “Expanding on racism and implicit bias training.”
Participants in the survey remain anonymous and there is even an open-ended question asking what else the mayor should consider in making the appointment.
The choice of the next chief is a big decision for Dickens. Not only is it obviously a big job, but the city has run through four chiefs in the past 12 years. Not a great track record for stability or leadership in a department. George Turner was appointed in 2010 and retired in 2016 after 35 years with the department. His replacement, Erika Shields, was another long-time Atlanta officer, having started in 1995 as a patrol officer after working as a stockbroker in Boston. She resigned in 2020 in the wake of the death of Rayshard Brooks, who had resisted arrest and was shot in the parking lot of a Wendy’s off University Avenue. Shields would later become the chief of police in Louisville, and has since put up a billboard in Atlanta looking to recruit officers. That billboard featured the former training commander for Atlanta’s police academy, who Shields had already poached and serves as Louisville’s deputy chief.
Following Shields, Rodney Bryant was appointed by former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Bryant had joined the force in 1988. The long-time officer retired in June of this year. He was replaced by Darin Schierbaum, serving on the force since 2002.
As crime continues to be one of the city’s biggest concerns – and looms large in the humming-in-the-background Buckhead City movement, finding the new chief and seeing quick results is one of Dickens’ biggest priorities. He has already laid out and is implementing the “One Safe City” plan, designed to address the root causes of crime, as well as focus on gangs, drugs, illegal guns and repeat offenders. As the city closes in on the end of the year, with a pace for murder and violent crime possibly exceeding last year’s already high totals, the new chief will have to make quick progress to ease the minds of Atlanta residents and visitors.
