PROGRAM EVALUATION
Prepared For the Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee
Georgia Public Safety Training Center August 2001

Russell W. Hinton, State Auditor

Performance Audit Operations Division Department of Audits and Accounts

254 Washington St. Atlanta, GA 30334

Purpose of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center
The purpose of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) is to develop, deliver, and facilitate training, which promotes professionalism and competency within the ranks of Georgia's public safety agencies.
Issues Addressed
Specific objectives of the program evaluation, as determined by the Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee, included the following:
To comment on the Results-Based Budget (RBB) goals and desired results and to evaluate the reliability of the data;
To describe how the GPSTC calculates the reimbursement to municipalities, counties, or state public safety agencies for expenditures on tuition, meals, and lodging which are incurred in training peace officers (35-5-5(d)) and to determine the extent fees (35-5-5(b)) charged to local and state government agencies for the training of their peace officers are not offset by an appropriation; and
To determine the impact on the GPSTC's budget as the regional academies are moved under the GPSTC.
Background
The Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) is part of the delivery system for public safety training in Georgia. Specifically, the GPSTC is a comprehensive training complex designed to address the training needs of state, local, and judicial public safety organizations. The GPSTC provides instruction to law enforcement, fire service, correctional, emergency medical, and judicial personnel. GPSTC is a 620-acre complex located in Forsyth and has several types of facilities which include:
Academic and administrative facilities; Physical and aquatic training facilities; Firefighter training facilities;

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Correctional training facilities; Driver training and firearms facilities; Practical exercise village; Hazardous materials and explosive devices training area; Conference facilities; and a Cafeteria and dormitory complex.

The training is provided by GPSTC's own General Instructional Services Division, the Georgia Police Academy (GPA) and the Georgia Fire Academy (GFA). The GPA and GFA operated as independent state entities until a fiscal year 1993 reorganization by the Board of Public Safety consolidated the GPA, the GFA, and the GPSTC. Since legislation has not been enacted to consolidate the entities, the GPA and the GFA are independent entities for budget purposes. For operational purposes, they function as divisions of the GPSTC. The GPA and GFA are located at the GPSTC in Forsyth.

The General Instructional Services Division offers programs that are often open to all public safety personnel. The GPA offers advanced and specialized programs designated for peace officers. In addition, the GPSTC may also provide parts of the basic law enforcement training course that requires special facilities, such as the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC) and Judgmental Pistol Shooting (JPS). It should be noted that the GPSTC and the GPA have provided basic jail officer and basic communication officer training. The GFA provides programs for basic, advanced, and specialized firefighting.

Several state agencies also have their training academies or training personnel located at the GPSTC. These agencies provide training to their Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) certified personnel, with training ranging from the agencies' basic training courses to advanced and specialized courses. The agencies that have their training academies or training personnel at the GPSTC include the following:

Department of Corrections

Department of Transportation

Georgia State Patrol

Department of Juvenile Justice

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Georgia Emergency Management Agency

Department of Natural Resources Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council

State Board of Pardons and

Paroles

Regional Academies
The 10 regional academies serve as the primary training facilities for local law enforcement personnel. The regional academies were authorized under the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Act of 1970 (O.C.G.A. 35-8). In May 1996, an executive order transferred responsibility for the regional academies from the POST Council to the GPSTC.

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. Currently, six of the 10 regional academies operate under a contract between the

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GPSTC and a sponsoring agency. The remaining four regional academies are under the direct control of the GPSTC.
Departmental Academies
The city of Atlanta, Cobb County, DeKalb County, and Gwinnett County operate departmental police academies, with training usually limited to department personnel. The departmental academies offer basic, in-service, and advanced/specialized training. The local law enforcement agencies operating the departmental academies generally require more than 400 hours of basic training; therefore, the 400-hour basic law enforcement course is integrated into their extended basic training program.
Appendix A on page 17 shows the location of the GPSTC, the regional training academies, as well as other key components of the public safety training delivery system.
Training Eligibility
The training courses offered by the GPSTC and the regional academies are tuition free to certified peace officers, emergency medical services personnel, and operational firefighters who are employed by state, county, or municipal public safety agencies in Georgia. Law enforcement support personnel, non-operational fire department employees, non-certified emergency medical services personnel, and civilian public safety employees may attend training at no charge for tuition, but must pay for meals and lodging. Employees of federal agencies, out-of-state agencies, and private sector organizations may attend courses for a fee, if space is available.
Types of Training
As discussed below, there are several types of training offered through the public safety training delivery system.
Basic Law Enforcement Training Cours e: Mandatory program of instruction required by the POST Council prior to an individual becoming a POST certified peace officer. The course is 400 hours of instruction and covers a variety of subject matter such as rules of evidence, report writing, auto theft, and crisis intervention. The regional academies and the departmental academies provide most of the basic mandate courses to local law enforcement agencies. The GPSTC may provide parts of the basic law enforcement training course that require special facilities, such as the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course and Judgmental Pistol Shooting.
In-service: Any training program drawn from the curriculum of the basic training course, which is generally offered for the purposes of updating or refreshing an officer's knowledge and basic skill level. The regional academies and the departmental academies provide the inservice training. A peace officer is required by POST to receive 20 hours of continuing education annually. In-service courses count towards this requirement.
Advanced/Specialized: Approved training program whose content is beyond the basic course of instruction and which is different from in-service training. Advanced/specialized training is designed to either develop special skills or to raise the proficiency level of a specialized skill to an advanced level of competence and performance. Examples of

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advanced training include: Verbal Judo, Spanish for Law Enforcement, Officer Survival, and Instructor Training Course. Advanced/specialized training counts toward the officers' required 20 hours of annual continuing education. The GPSTC, the regional academies and the departmental academies provide advanced/specialized training.
Basic Firefighter Training Course: Mandatory program of instruction required by the Firefighters Standards and Training Council prior to becoming a certified firefighter. The course is 120 hours of instruction and covers a variety of subject matter such as fire behavior and control, emergency medical care, roof vent ilation, and search and rescue. The GFA academy provides most of the basic mandate courses to local firefighting agencies either at their main GPSTC facility or at the local fire fighting facility that requested the training.
Basic Jail Officer Training: Mandatory program of instruction required by the POST Council prior to an individual becoming a POST certified jail officer. Jail officers may work for up to six months before completing the course. The course is 80 hours of instruction and covers a variety of subject matter such as inmate rights, self-defense, inmate discipline, and first aid. The regional academies and the departmental academies provide most of the basic mandate courses to local jail officers.
Basic Communications Officer Training : Mandatory program of instruction required by the POST Council prior to an individual becoming a POST certified communications officer. Communications officers may work for up to six months before completing the course. The course is 64 hours of instruc tion and covers a variety of subject matter such as emergency telephone answering techniques, radio broadcast techniques, and emergency management procedures. The regional academies and the departmental academies provide most of the basic mandate courses to local communication officers.
As shown in Appendix B on page 18, the GPSTC, its resident agencies, and the regional/departmental academies taught 5,202 courses to 97,261 students in fiscal year 2000. Of these courses, 376 were basic training courses and 4,826 were in-service, advanced or specialized training courses.
Funding and Staffing
Funding for GPSTC, the Georgia Police Academy, and the Georgia Fire Academy in fiscal year 2000 totaled approximately $15.78 million, which included $12.4 million in state funding, $734,095 in federal funding, and approximately $2.6 million in funding from other sources (i.e., tuition, cafeteria sales, printing services, and etc.). As seen in Exhibit 1 on the following page, this funding was used to support the activities of the GPSTC, the GPA, and the GFA, including funding roughly 176 staff that includes 154 full- time, 15 part-time, and 7 contract staff as well as funding the activities of 10 regional police academies, 3 departmental police academies, and the Chiefs of Police and Sheriff's Associations through the Peace Officer Training Grant.

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Exhibit 1 Revenues and Expenditures FY 2000 (audited)

Revenues

Georgia Public

Safety Training Georgia Police

Center

Academy

Georgia Fire Academy

Total

State Funds Other Funds (1) Federal Funds TOTAL REVENUES
Expenditures Personal Services Peace Officer Grant Regular Operating Per Diem, Fees, and Contracts Capital Outlay Telecommunications Equipment Computer Charges Travel

$10,092,602.00 $2,454,756.01 $350,758.30
$12,898,116.31

$1,235,106.00 $115,801.60 $333,461.58
$1,684,369.18

$1,078,668.00 $64,224.47 $49,875.43
$1,192,767.90

$12,406,376.00 $2,634,782.08 $734,095.31
$15,775,253.39

$ 4,676,464.03 $ 4,042,722.02 $ 2,900,232.42
$306,920.28 $299,963.20 $204,713.80 $170,918.32 $132,495.31
$26,911.46

$1,269,568.13 $-0-
$298,088.90 $48,164.32 $-0$2,956.79 $26,552.25 $15,069.71 $10,601.57

$887,891.65 $-0-
$154,786.36 $106,638.12
$-0$3,124.70 $7,869.20 $10,435.99 $16,804.35

$6,833,923.81 $4,042,722.02 $3,353,107.68
$461,722.72 $299,963.20 $210,795.29 $205,339.77 $158,001.01
$54,317.38

Motor Vehicle Purchases Real Estate Rentals TOTAL EXPENSES

$15,693.00 $3,000.00
$12,780,033.84

$-0$-0$1,671,001.67

$-0-

$15,693.00

$-0-

$3,000.00

$1,187,550.37 $15,638,585.88

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES

$118,082.47

$13,367.51

$5,217.53 $136,667.51

(1) Other revenue sources include tuition, cafeteria and vending sales, printing services, dorm rentals, etc.

Source: Department of Audits Management Report

Results-Based Budgeting
The Budgetary Accountability and Planning Act of 1993 requires that programs provide data in their Results-Based Budget to indicate how well they are solving the problems they were created and funded to address. The intent for capturing and reporting such data is to reflect the progress the program has made towards achieving its purpose for existing. The GPSTC's goals and desired results measures, which were included in the fiscal year 2002 Governor's Budget Report, are shown in Exhibit 2 on page 6.

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Exhibit 2 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY- UNIT B- Results-Based Budgeting

GEORGIA PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER

PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING Purpose: To develop, deliver, and facilitate training, which promotes professionalism and competency within the ranks of

Georgia's public safety agencies.

Goal 1: Improve the ability of public safety personnel in Georgia FY 2000 FY 2000 to protect lives while adhering to the principles of due process Desired Actual (1)

FY 2001 Desired

FY 2002 Desired

and equal protection.

- The percentage of Public Safety professionals who attend

Georgia Public Safety Training Center's courses and pass that

show a minimum of 10% improvement in the subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities based on pre- and post- testing as

follows

EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation)

32%

35%

35%

40%

Basic Communication

57%

74%

62%

70%

Advanced/ Specialized in Service Mandate

48%

58%

53%

58%

JPS (Judgmental Pistol Shooting)

38%

38%

42%

48%

- In a 6-month follow-up survey, 50% of employers will state that

the coursework at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center was 50%

N/A

50%

50%

relevant and helpful. (2)

Program Fund Allocation- Total Funds

$12,898,116 $11,653,168 $11,406,306

State Funds

$10,092,602 $10,579,168 $10,332,306

Notes: (1) Funding amounts for FY 2000 are actual audited amounts compiled by the Department of Audits. (2) Data for this measure has not been previously collected.
Source: FY02 Governor's Budget Report

Other States Outcome Measures
Based on a review of a sample of other states' outcome measures, the evaluation team noted that only Florida used outcome measures for law enforcement training. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Professionalism Program regulates criminal justice professionals in the areas of training, certification, and compliance. Florida's Professionalism Program's outcome measures include surveys of students and their supervisors (see Exhibit 3 on the following page). Florida's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (a research unit of the Florida Legislature created to help improve the performance and accountability of state government) assessed these measures as valid indicators of the effectiveness of training. The survey of supervisors is similar to the GPSTC's desired result follow- up survey of a student's employer. It should be noted that the GPSTC also measures the effectiveness of its training using a pre- and post-test.

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Exhibit 3 Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Professionalism Program

1996-97 1997-98

Actual Actual

- Percentage of officers completing an advanced

or specialized training course offered by a

certified training facility who rate training 91%

97%

effective in improving their ability to perform

their duties.

- Percentage of officers rated as demonstrating

improved performance by their supervisors after completing an advanced or specialized training

70%

91%

course offered by a certified training facility.

Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Professionalism Program

1997-98 Desired
91%
70%

1999-2000 Desired 93%
84%

Evaluation Methodology
This evaluation was conducted in compliance with O.C.G.A. 45-12-178 enacted in 1993. The evaluation was conducted under the Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee's calendar year 2001 theme, "Public Safety and Sentencing Offenders." The evaluation methodology included:

Review of GPSTC and regional academy records;

Interviews with GPSTC, regional academy, departmental academy, and sponsoring agency personnel;

Reliability and completeness tests of the RBB data;

Review of professional training literature and studies; and,

Review of other states' public safety training delivery systems.

The entire report was discussed with appropriate personnel at the GPSTC, and a draft copy was provided to the GPSTC. Agency personnel were invited to provide a written response to the report and to indicate areas in which they planned to take corrective action. Pertinent responses from the GPSTC are reflected in the report as appropriate.

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Issue: Comment on the validity of the Results-Based Budget (RBB) goals and desired results for the GPSTC.
The GPSTC's fiscal year 2002 Results-Based Budgeting (RBB) goal and desired results are valid indicators of its effectiveness. However, the desired results could be improved. In addition, there are several factors that adversely impact the validity of the RBB data.
The GPSTC has one goal and two measures of desired results identified in the Governor's Budget Report (see Exhibit 2 on page 6). Data for the first measure is collected from four categories of courses: Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC), Basic Communications (for 911 operators), Advanced/Specialized in service mandate, and Judgmental Pistol Shooting (JPS). The goal is an indicator of how well the GPSTC is meeting its purpose. In order to measure the progress towards meeting its goal, GPSTC uses a pre-/post- test and a follow- up survey. While the use of a pre-/post- test and a follow-up survey are valid measures of performance for a training program, the desired results could be improved. The development of desired results is an ongoing process and the GPSTC is working to develop realistic benchmarks that are reflective of historical results. The potential improvements to the desired results as well as those factors that adversely impact the validity of the RBB data are noted below:
Measure 1 The percentage of Public safety professionals who attend Georgia Public Safety Training Center's courses and pass that show a minimum of 10% improvement in subject matter knowledge, skills and abilities based on pre- and post- testing.
Potential Improvements The desired result for the Basic Communications and advanced/specialized in service
mandate could better reflect the actual result. For example, as shown in Exhibit 2 on page 6, the fiscal year 2000 desired result for Basic Communications was 57% and the fiscal year 2000 actual result was 74%. However, the fiscal year 2001 desired result is 62%. The GPSTC stated they are working to develop an achievable benchmark that is reflective of historical results.
The GPSTC, in its response to the Program Evaluation, agreed that the desired results could better reflect the historical results. However, the FY 2001 and the FY 2002 goals were arbitrarily set during FY 1999 when no historical data was available. The FY 2003 result, which is currently being prepared, will be based upon data obtained in previous fiscal years.
The GPSTC should reassess the 10% minimum improvement criteria. We selected a random sample of 14 courses from the fiscal year 2001 RBB database to calculate the average percent improvement based on the pre and post tests for students who passed the course. The average percent improvement for students in the sample was 88.5%. Twentyfive percent (or 82) of the students showed a 100% or higher improvement. The GPSTC stated that due to varying levels of skill and knowledge students in basic courses may have a

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high percent improvement and students in advanced courses may have a low percent improvement. An expert on measuring the effectiveness of training stated that improvement criteria should be based on reasonable expectations for each course rather than all courses combined.
The GPSTC stated that the minimum improvement percentage established in the narrative RBB will be increased in the FY 2003 submission in order to more accurately reflect the actual results. However, it is unreasonable to expect a minimum improvement criteria for each course since 51 different advanced/specialized courses are offered. The evaluation suggests separating basic and advanced/specialized programs; however, the "Basic Communications Officer Training Course" is the only mandated basic course offered through the General Instruction Division and separate reporting of this program would not achieve the evaluation recommendation.
Factors Adversely Impacting Validity of the RBB Data The stated population that should be measured is students who attend a course and pass.
However, the reported actual result is the average percentage improvement by course rather than by student. In addition, all students' scores are included whether they pass or fail a course (generally students must correctly answer at least 70% of the questions on the posttest to pass).
The GPSTC stated that the reported measure is currently course averages which are compiled by averaging the pre and post-test scores of students attending the course. The GPSTC contends that the current reporting procedure is a compilation of student improvement presented in a "bycourse" aggregate. The GPSTC agrees that students failing courses were inadvertently included in the reported measure. However, failures in the GPSTC courses are less than 2% and it is the GPSTC's opinion that inclusion of these scores would have generally lowered the actual result so it would have been of no benefit for the GPSTC to intentionally include this data. Steps have been taken to ensure no further failures are included in the database.
Experts on measuring the effectiveness of training stated that the pre- and post-tests should be the same or very similar. This allows for a more accurate measure of a student's learning of a particular course's material. Currently, the GPSTC does not require tha t the pre- and post-tests be the same or very similar. GPSTC administration stated that they have verbally communicated to their instructors that the pre- and post-tests should be the same or very similar. We found courses with pre-tests that are substantially different from the post-tests. For example, the Basic Communications Officer course uses a 20 question pre-test and a 50 question post-test. We recommend that the GPSTC develop written guidelines and review tests to ensure that the pre- and post-tests are the same or very similar.
The GPSTC agreed that pre and post-tests should be the same or similar. However, a review of GPSTC course tests show approximately 95% currently meet this criteria. The remaining 5% used substantially different testing due to two primary reasons: (1) the existence of courses that do not include a comprehensive final examination (for example, 80 hour courses which contain 2 weekly examinations) and (2) misunderstanding on the part of the Course Coordinators and failure of supervisors to review and approve the testing instruments. The GPSTC agrees that

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written guidelines should be established and implemented for pre and post-testing and GPSTC staff is in the process of preparing written procedures to be followed by instructional personnel.
Measure 2 In a 6 month follow-up survey, 50% of employers will state that the coursework at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center was relevant and helpful.
Potential Improvements The desired result that 50% of students' employers surveyed will find the coursework
relevant and helpful should be reassessed. This desired result benchmark would imply that half of the employers of GPSTC's students do not find the coursework relevant and helpful. Florida's Professionalism Program uses a similar measure with actual results above 90%. The GPSTC stated they are working to develop an achievable benchmark that will be reflective of historical results.
The GPSTC stated that in preparation of the FY 2003 RBB, they are considering the desired result of 50% and intend to increase this percentage to more accurately reflect the expected result. However, no historical data exists to determine what the actual results may be.
Factors Adversely Impacting Validity of the RBB Data Currently, the GPSTC has collected no data on the follow-up survey desired result measure.
The GPSTC is developing the follow-up survey and has no target date for its implementation. We recommend that the follow- up survey of employers continue to be developed and be implemented.
The GPSTC stated that the survey instrument has been completed and during the first week of August 2001, approximately 1000 "Customer Satisfaction Survey" forms were mailed to public safety agencies. The GPSTC is currently verifying mailing lists for the remaining survey forms and data collection results for fiscal year 2001 will be included with the FY 2003 RBB report.
Issue: Evaluate the reliability of the RBB data.
The evaluation found that there are several factors that adversely impact the reliability of the RBB data.
The factors that adversely impact the reliability of the RBB data are the data's correctness, completeness, and security. The process to collect the RBB data begins with the course instructor calculating the average pre and post test score for a course based on all of the students' scores in that course. The instructor then reports the results to GPSTC Registration. The data (the pre-test and post-test averages for each course) are then entered by GPSTC Registration into the RBB database and the percent improvement from the pre-test to the posttest for the course is automatically calculated. Then, the average overall percent improvement for all courses in the database is calculated. It should be noted that the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget stated that the RBB data is self-reported by agencies and there is no verification of the reliability of the data.

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Data Correctness - The GPSTC does not check the instructors' calculation of the course averages to ensure the correctness of the data entered into the RBB database. We selected a random sample of 14 courses from the fiscal year 2001 RBB database to test the reliability of the data. We noted errors in the calculation of the pre-test and/or the post-test course average in one (or 7%) of the 14 courses.
The GPSTC stated that steps have been taken to ensure correct data is submitted to the Registration Section. Raw data is now calculated by a formula-driven spreadsheet, which is being utilized by GPSTC staff to ensure correct calculation of RBB results.
Data Completeness - The GPSTC does not compare the Training Status Report with the RBB database to ensure that all courses that should be in the RBB database are in fact in the RBB database. The Training Status Report lists all of the courses conducted by the GPSTC. We compared the data in the RBB database from the first six months of fiscal year 2001 with the GPSTC's Training Status Report for the same period. The GPSTC conducted 152 training courses during this time frame and 137 (or 90%) courses used a pre- and post- test. Some courses may not use a pre- and post- test due to the nature of the course (such as a seminar or a federally sponsored course). We found that 11 (or 8%) of the 137 courses that should have been in the RBB database had not been entered into the RBB database.
The GPSTC stated that the employee assigned to gather the FY 2001 data was provided instructions at the beginning of the fiscal year to reconcile the RBB database and the Training Status Report. The employee had not done so at the time of the program evaluation. Copies of the data collection instruments for the 11 courses not included in the database were found in the course files and have since been added to the FY 2001 database.
Data Security - The RBB database is not secure. The RBB database is stored on a network at the GPSTC and any individual with access to the network has access to the RBB database. The GPSTC does have the capability to password protect the RBB database. However, at the time of our review the RBB database was not password protected.
The GPSTC stated that the FY 2000 data was secure in that it was located on one password protected computer (office of the Assistant Director). The FY 2001 data was intended to reside on one personal computer, but was placed on the Training Center's internal network in order to train and double-check the work of the employee assigned to gather FY 2001 cumulative data. The database was removed from the network when this issue was brought to the GPA's attention by the Audit Department.

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Issue: Describe how the GPSTC calculates the reimbursement to municipalities, counties, or state public safety agencies for expenditures on tuition, meals, and lodging which are incurred in training peace officers (35-55(d)) and to determine the extent fees (35-5-5(b)) charged to local and state government agencies for the training of their peace officers are not offset by an appropriation.
The Georgia Public Safety Training Center provides training free of charge to eligible public safety personnel within the state of Georgia but does charge fees to private citizens, out-of-state residents, and federal agencies to offset the cost of training.
Although the GPSTC is allowed under O.C.G.A. 35-5-5 (b) to charge fees to local and state government agencies to offset the cost of training their peace officers, the GPSTC provides training free of charge to eligible public safety personnel. Eligible public safety personnel are defined as certified or registered law enforcement officers, jailers, communications officers, firefighters, corrections officers, or emergency medical technicians who are employed or appointed by a municipal, county or state public safety agency. GPSTC personnel believe that charging fees for training is in conflict with the intent of the Peace Officer and Prosecutor Training Fund Act (POPTF) and the annual appropriations made directly to the GPSTC by the General Assembly. The Peace Officer and Prosecutor Training Fund Act of 1983 imposes an additional penalty fee of 10%, up to $50.00, on all criminal and traffic cases (except failure to wear seat belt violations) in which a fine is imposed or a bond is required for the purpose of training law enforcement officers and prosecuting officials.
Although the GPSTC does not normally charge fees to local governments and state agencies to offset the cost of training their peace officers, there are certain instances where fees are charged. These instances are discussed below.
Private citizens, out-of-state residents, and federal agencies may attend GPSTC programs on a space available basis, but they are charged for training. Basic/pre-service training is $2,500 per student and most is taught at the regional academies. Specialized training is $10 per course hour and is taught at both the regional academies and the GPSTC. It should be noted that $2,000 of the $2,500 for basic training is the amount that was approved by POST, with $500 of the $2,500 covering meals, lodging, and supplies for EVOC and Judgmental Pistol Shooting performed at GPSTC. For fiscal year 2000, the GPSTC received approximately $140,000 in student tuition ($14,000 for Advanced/specialized courses and $125,700 for EVOC and JPS) and the regional academies received approximately $460,000.
There is also a charge for coroner training ($12 per hour), as mandated by law, from which the GPSTC received $109,000 in FY 2000.
There is also a charge for the industrial fire program, from which the GPSTC received approximately $59,000 in FY 2000.

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The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is charged for the lodging and meals for its students since the General Assembly provides funding for lodging and meals in DJJ's budget rather than funding the GPSTC directly. The GPSTC received $436,774 in fees from DJJ during fiscal year 2000.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) is charged for the meals and lodging for private prison guards that attend its training at the GPSTC facility. The GPSTC received $70,579 in fees from the DOC during fiscal year 2000.
The O.C.G.A 35-5-5 (d) allows the GPSTC to reimburse municipalities, counties, or state public safety agencies for expenditures on tuition, meals, and lodging which are incurred in training peace officers and law enforcement support personnel. Since the GPSTC typically does not charge fees for the services they provide, they do not reimburse municipalities, counties, or state public safety agencies for expenditures on tuition, meals and lodging except in limited instances. These instances include reimbursing agencies for expenses incurred by a few students each year at GPSTC as well as reimbursing for the meals and lodging of basic law enforcement students attending the regional academies. This amounted to approximately $225,000 during fiscal year 2000. These instances are discussed below.
Reimbursement for meals and lodging occurs if a student is attending the basic mandate class (i.e., the basic training class for new peace officers, jailers, and etc.) and only if their reimbursement request is received within 60 days of completing the training. Additionally, the regional academy must be over 45 miles away from the student's agency or residence (whichever is closer).
Students are reimbursed $18 a day for meals and are not required to submit meal receipts. They are reimbursed $26 a day (or the actual cost) for double occupancy lodging, and must submit receipts.
It should be noted that the regional academy at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College furnishes lodging and meals to basic mandate students and the regional academy at Armstrong Atlantic State University furnishes meals to basic mandate students. The GPSTC reimburses the university or the regional academy in these two instances.

Issue: Determine the impact on the GPSTC's budget as the regional academies are moved under the GPSTC.
The Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) does not anticipate that its capital outlay budget will be significantly impacted when control of the regional academies is moved from the sponsoring agencies to GPSTC. However, this conversion will have an immediate impact on GPSTC's operating budget.
Initially, all of the regional academies were operated under a contract between the GPSTC and a sponsoring agency. In September 1999, the Board of Public Safety recommended that the 38

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positions associated with seven of the 10 regional academies become employees of the GPSTC and that $1.7 million in funds be reallocated within GPSTC's budget for this purpose. This recommendation would move the operational control from the sponsoring agency to the GPSTC.
In July 2000, three of the recommended regional academies, the Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia (Macon), the Northeast Georgia Police Academy (Athens), and the Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center (Cave Springs) were moved under the control of the GPSTC. Another academy, the Central Savannah River Area Training Center (Augusta) was moved in June 2001. The remaining three regional academies that were recommended to come under direct control of the GPSTC are the ABAC Regional Police Academy (Tifton), AASU Criminal Justice Training Center (Savannah) and the CSU Regional Law Enforcement Training Center (Columbus). The GPSTC plans include funds for bringing the remaining three regional academies under direct control in its 2003 fiscal year budget request.
The three regional academies sponsored by counties, the Clayton Regional Law Enforcement Academy (Jonesboro), the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy (Marietta), and the Fulton County Public Safety Training Center (College Park), were omitted from the recommendation. These were omitted because current state law prevents the county employees of these regional academies from transferring retirement credit into the state retirement system. In addition, the sponsoring agencies for these three regional academies contribute approximately $1,000,000 a year in support.
The process of moving the academies under the GPSTC control has resulted in additional costs to the GPSTC, but these costs have been operational rather than capital.
In terms of short-term capital outlay costs (next 3 to 5 years), GPSTC personnel only expect to incur capital costs for one of the four academies already under the direct control of the GPSTC (the Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia). This is due to the Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia planning to relocate to a facility that will need extensive renovations. It should be noted that the GPSTC could not provide an estimate regarding how much these renovations will cost. In addition, the GPSTC staff stated that they have no plans for further capital outlay costs if the remaining three facilities in Tifton, Savannah, and Columbus become part of the GPSTC in the future.
GPSTC staff indicated that they lack specific information on what the long-term capital outlay plans (beyond 5 years) might be for the regional academies. However, GPSTC personnel stated that they do expect future capital outlay expenditures at some of these sites, which might include items like building renovations and additional teaching facilities.
It should be noted that GPSTC's 2000 Strategic Plan included an objective to build four Regional Public Safety Training Facilities at $10 million apiece. But GPSTC personnel stated that no action has been taken on the issue and no studies have been performed to determine if this system of four regional sites would be the best method for delivering regional public safety

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training. The four regional academies were part of a long-range strategic plan the GPSTC may or may not pursue.
The GPSTC stated that it does not anticipate any short -term capital outlay for the Middle Georgia Regional Police Academy (Macon). An existing structure belonging to the Department of Agriculture has been located and the GPSTC anticipates entering into a lease agreement with that agency. The structure requires some renovation work, which will be accomplished with existing funds in GPSTC's budget.

Exhibit 4 below details the additional operating costs the GPSTC paid to operate the Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia (Macon), the Northeast Georgia Police Academy (Athens), and the Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center (Cave Spring) than when these regional academies were operated by a sponsoring agency. The GPSTC anticipated the additional operating cost, estimating $186,000 and receiving an additional $184,000 from the General Assembly in fiscal year 2001 to manage the regional academies. This amount has been annualized into GPSTC's budget. In fiscal year 2001, GPSTC expended $141,000 more then in fiscal year 2000 for operating the three regional academies, which is approximately $45,000 less than what had been anticipated for fiscal year 2001. However, it should be noted that according to agency staff, the GPSTC should have spent an additional $28,515 in salaries for the regional academies during fiscal year 2001 but did not incur the expense because several positions were vacant for a short time. In addition, the GPSTC paid more than $68,000 for computer equipment, ammunition, printing supplies, and other equipment in fiscal year 2000 for use by these three academies in fiscal year 2001.

Exhibit 4

Actual Cost of Converting Regional Academies to State Operations

Regional Academy

FY 2001
Total FY FY 2001 Total Actual Cost 2000 Expenditures above FY
Revenue (1) by Academy (2) 2000 Revenue

FY 2001 Costs not listed in each Academy's Cost Center

Total Additional
FY 2001 Costs paid by GPSTC

FY 2001 Projected Cost above FY 2000 Revenue

Difference Between Projected and Actual Costs above FY 2000 Revenue

Law Enforcement Training

Center of Middle GeorgiaMacon (3)

$259,411.91 $322,381.17 $62,969.26

Northeast Georgia Police Academy- Athens (3)

$405,436.78 $440,951.62 $35,514.84 $30,018.00 (4) $141,259.95 $186,234.00 $44,974.05

Northwest Georgia Law

Enforcement Training Center- $208,751.00 $221,508.85 $12,757.85 Rome (3)

TOTAL

$873,599.69 $984,841.64 $111,241.95 $30,018.00 $141,259.95 $186,234.00

(1) Revenue includes Peace Officer Training Grant, tuition, sponsoring agency, and federal funds.

(2) All FY 2001 expenditures were paid by the GPSTC.

(3) These academies came under direct GPSTC control in FY 2001.

(4) Additional costs were not separated out by Academy.

$44,974.05

SOURCE: GPSTC financial records and interviews with Training Center staff.

Georgia Public Safety Training Center

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GPSTC staff estimates that the remaining four academies (including Central Savannah River which became part of GPSTC during the last two weeks of fiscal year 2001 at a cost of $9,300) could cost the GPSTC an additional $406,000 in operating expenses as they are integrated into the GPSTC. It should be noted that $283,000 of this anticipated additional expense is based on the assumption that the four academies will be required to pay additional rent than when housed by their sponsoring agency and that the regional academies may also be required to pay all their instructors for teaching at the academies. Currently, the regional academies receive a significant amount of instruction from volunteer instructors that work for local law enforcement agencies, while the GPSTC has historically paid instructors. According to program personnel, it should be noted that the three regional academies that the GPSTC has operated since July 2000 have not had large increases in the number of instructors they are actually paying. These anticipated additional operating costs as well as their current contract and revenue amounts are in Exhibit 5 below.

Exhibit 5

Predicted Additional Expenditures for Regional Academy Conversion

FY 2001 Predicted Cost above

Regional Academy

Revenue (1)

ABAC Regional Police Academy - Tifton

$139,499.00

AASU Criminal Justice Training Center - Savannah

$142,714.00

Central Savannah River Area Law Enforcement Training Center - Augusta (2)

$21,994.00

CSU Regional Law Enforcement Training Center - Columbus

$102,591.00

TOTAL

$406,798.00

(1) Estimate developed by GPSTC staff for FY 2001. (2) This academy came under direct GPSTC control during the last 2 weeks of FY 2001. Source: GPSTC financial records and interviews with Training Center staff

The GPSTC should conduct a facilities study to determine what the GPSTC and the regional academies will require over the long-term (5 to 10 years) to remain viable teaching entities and to provide a reasonable estimate of the potential costs for these facility upgrades to the General Assembly and the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. In addition, the GPSTC needs to provide the state's decision makers with updated estimates on how much it will cost to convert the remaining three regional academies now that the GPSTC has experience at estimating the cost of the conversion process.

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Georgia Public Safety Training Center

Regional Academies

Department Academies

Appendix A Locations of Certified Academies

10 C

8D

9

A

B

6 4w

7 5r

POST Certified Academies
1 Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Regional Police Academy 2 Armstrong Atlantic State University Criminal Justice Training Ctr. 3 Central Savannah River Area Law Enforcement Training Center 4 Clayton Regional Law Enforcement Training Center 5 Columbus University Law Enforcement Training Center 6 Fulton County Public Safety Training Center 7 Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia 8 North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy 9 Northeast Georgia Police Academy 10 Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Academy

Location
Tifton Savannah Blythe Jonesboro Columbus College Park Macon Marietta Bogart Cave Spring

A Atlanta Police Academy

Atlanta

B DeKalb County Police Academy

Lithonia

C Gwinnett County Police Academy

Buford

D Cobb County Public Safety Training Center

Marietta

3 Georgia Public Safety Training Center Department of Juvenile Justice Training Academy

Georgia State Patrol Training Academy G.B.I. Training Academy
Georgia Department of Natural Resources Training Academy State Board of Pardons and Paroles Training Academy Georgia Corrections Academy

Forsyth

w Georgia Sheriffs' Association Training r Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police Training

Stockbridge Columbus

2 Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council Office Tucker

1

State Academies

Misc.

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Source: Program Records

Appendix B

FY 2000 Course Offerings and Students
# of

Specialized/

# of Advanced/ In-

Resident Agencies

# of

# of

Basic

Courses Students Courses

Service Courses

Georgia Fire Academy Georgia Police Academy (1) Georgia Public Safety Training Center (2)
Dept. of Corrections Georgia Bureau of Investigation Dept. of Juvenile Justice Other Agency Training (3) Pardons and Parole Georgia Emergency Management Agency Georgia State Patrol Dept. of Natural Resources

470

9,470

61

409

454 10,996

55

399

322

6,335

83

239

239

8,575

23

216

128

4,609

1

127

86

2,863

17

69

47

851

2

45

41

806

2

39

39

1,619

-

39

38

1,508

1

37

27

550

1

26

Dept. of Transportation

20

256

-

Fire Standards and Training

1

28

-

Prosecuting Attorney

1

57

-

TOTAL FOR GPSTC AND ITS RESIDENT AGENCIES

1,913 48,523

246

Regional Academies

Armstrong Atlantic State University Regional Criminal Justice

Training Center

425

5,951

15

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Police Academy

413

4,546

16

North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy

378

4,053

14

Columbus College Regional Law Enforcement Training Center

326

3,458

17

Fulton County Public Safety Training Center

219

4,111

13

Law Enforcement Training Center of Middle Georgia

186

2,320

6

Clayton Regional Law Enforcement Academy

168

2,331

10

20 1 1
1,667
410 397 364 309 206 180 158

Central Savannah River Area Law Enforcement Training Center

153

2,162

7

Northeast Georgia Police Academy

151

2,437

10

Northwest Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center

87

913

7

TOTAL FOR REGIONAL ACADEMIES

2,506 32,282

115

Departmental Academies

Dekalb County Police Academy

302

6,848

4

Gwinnett County Police Academy

277

4,893

8

146 141
80 2,391
298 269

Atlanta Police Academy TOTAL FOR DEPARTMENTAL ACADEMIES

177

4,376

3

174

756 16,117

15

741

Professional Associations

Georgia Police Chief's Association

-

-

-

Georgia Sheriff's Association

27

339

-

TOTAL FOR PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

27

339

-

GRAND TOTAL

5,202 97,261

376

(1) Basic courses are jail officer and judgmental pistol shooting.

(2) Basic courses are communications officer and emergency vehicle operation course (EVOC).

(3) Other agencies include entities like Monroe County and the Georgia Forestry Training Academy.

Source: GPSTC Records

27 27 4,826

For additional information, please contact Paul E. Bernard, Director, Performance Audit Operations Division, at 404.657.5220.

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