Executive summary : a review of specific aspects of the regional police academies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Prepared For The Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee

A Review of Specific Aspects of the Regional Police Academies August 2001

Russell W. Hinton, State Auditor

Performance Audit Operations Division 254 Washington St. S.W.

Department of Audits and Accounts

Atlanta, GA 30334-8400

Background
The purpose of the Regional Police Academies (regional academies) is to provide law enforcement training to peace officers, jail officers, and communications officers. The 10 regional academies are part of the delivery system for public safety training in Georgia. This system consists of several components including the 10 regional academies, the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC), and four local law enforcement departmental academies.

There are two different types of organizational structures for the regional academies, contractual and direct control. Initially all of the regional academies were operated under contract between the GPSTC and a sponsoring agency. Sponsoring agencies include Board of Regents' schools and county boards of commissioners. In fiscal year 2000, the Board of Public Safety proposed bringing the regional academies under the direct control of the GPSTC. Currently, six of the 10 regional academies operate under a contract between the GPSTC and a sponsoring agency. The Exhibit below shows the regional academies and their sponsoring agency.

Regional Academies and Sponsoring Agencies

ACADEMY

Sponsoring Agency

Regents' Schools ABAC Regional Police Academy - Tifton AASU Criminal Justice Training Center - Savannah

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Armstrong Atlantic State University

CSU Regional Law Enforcement Training Center - Columbus

Columbus State University

Counties Clayton Regional Law Enforcement Academy - Jonesboro Fulton County Public Safety Training Center - College Park North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy - Marietta

Clayton County Fulton County Cobb County

GPSTC Central Savannah River Area Law Enforcement Training Center - Augusta Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia - Macon Northeast Georgia Police Academy - Athens Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center - Rome
Source: GPSTC and regional academy records.

None
None None None

Regional Police Academies

Page 1

Evaluation Issues and Findings
Issue: Evaluate the organizational and financial structures of the regional academies. The current organizational and financial structures of the regional academies are reasonable. As the operational control of the regional academies moves from the sponsoring agencies to the GPSTC, the organizational and financial structures of the regional academies will change. There are several organizations that have a role in the operations of the regional academies, these are the:
POST Council: Responsible for establishing minimum training standards for peace officers, monitoring compliance with those standards, and approving training curriculum. In addition, the POST Council certifies training facilities, instructors, and regional academy directors.
Regional Advisory Boards: Include sheriffs, police chiefs, city and county officials, peace officers, and civilians from the regional academy's region. The Regional Advisory Boards offer input on the type of training that is needed in a particular region.
GPSTC: Currently provides direct operational control to four of the regional academies. The GPSTC contracts with sponsoring agencies to provide operational control for the other six regional academies.
Sponsoring Agencies: Government entities that provide operational control for six regional academies.
Issue: Determine if the regional academies are operating under sound financial principles. The regional academies are operating under sound financial principles. The regional academies do not operate as stand alone entities but as organizational units of their sponsoring agency or the GPSTC. The regional academies that have a state entity as their sponsoring agency operate within the financial principles as prescribed by the state of Georgia, and the sponsoring agency is subject to some form of financial review by the State Auditor. The county-based sponsoring agencies are subject to an annual financial audit by an independent accountant, and each of the counties operate within generally accepted accounting principles.
Issue: Determine to what degree there is redundancy between the services provided by the Georgia Police Academy, the 10 regional academies, and other law enforcement training centers (in particular, the GA Community Policing Institute, the Atlanta, Cobb County, DeKalb County, and Gwinnett County police academies). Although the Georgia Police Academy/GPSTC, the regional academies, and the departmental academies have some redundancy in the type of training offered, there is not an unnecessary duplication of services.
Issue: Using the standards of accessibility, efficiency, and standardization, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a different number of regions? Generally, the current number of regions is reasonable. The current regional system and number of regions was developed based on a set of six criteria which incorporate accessibility, efficiency, and standardization. The advantages and disadvantages of a different number of regions are impacted by several factors, including the geographic location of the regional academies, volunteer instructors, the POST Council, tuition, and subsistence costs.
For additional information or to request a copy of the Program Evaluation, please contact Paul E. Bernard, Director, Performance Audit Operations Division, at 404-657-5220.

Regional Police Academies
Click here for full report

Page 2