Police officers in Georgia are required to have 20 hours of

training each year to maintain their arrest powers.

In Fayetteville, officers chuckle at such a standard. "I don't

believe you can do your job on 20 hours a year of training,"

Sgt. Robert Stavenger tells this reporter during a recent ride

with officers.

Constantly improving one's level of training is part of

the pride and team spirit that the city's officers seem to wear like part

of their uniforms. And it has paid off. The department recently

became the 24th in the state to achieve accreditation by the

Georgia Police Accreditation Commission, and it received

statewide recognition as the best-trained unit, logging 174.8 hours of

training per officer last year.

"The city requires 60 hours," said Cpl. Scott Pitts, field

training officer for the evening watch, adding that the minimum

requirement is just a starting point.

Pitts has worked in the city for a little over two years, and said

he received more training here last year 313 hours than in

almost four years in two other police departments.

The key, Pitts and Stavenger agree, is Police Chief

Johnny Roberts' emphasis on training. "The chief is behind us 100

percent on it," said Stavenger. "I don't think I've ever had him

say no to training issues," he added.

This is the second year since Roberts took over the

department in 1992 that Fayetteville's officers have won the statewide

training award. And in the other years, the department has missed by

fractions of an hour, said Roberts.

"When I came here," Roberts said, "the people were very

capable and did a good job, but you have to make changes. The

world is changing."

Police work is getting more technical, laws are

constantly changing, and if officers want to be on top of the game, they

must train, he said. And a well-oiled police department needs to

continually update its management principles and procedures,

he added.

"The better trained and more experienced police officer you

can put out there, the less liability will be on the city and the

department," said Roberts. "By the same token, one of the major

areas where there are attacks on police departments and liability

issues is when the officers are not properly trained for the tasks they

are required to do."

Fayetteville has 38 sworn officers, including two captains

Steve Ledbetter and Harold Simmons and six watch

commanders who hold the rank of lieutenant.

The department's task is to police a city of 10,000, but don't

be deceived by the population figure. City officials say the

daytime population of people working in, shopping in and driving

through town is closer to 25,000. "We have to serve those people

too," said Roberts, adding that those driving through provide tmost

of the department's work load.

There's so much traffic, said Capt. Harold Simmons, that

serious injuries and deaths are actually down. There are more

accidents, but fewer deaths. "They just can't get up enough speed

in all the traffic," he said.

In his patrol car, Cpl. Pitts hands the reporter an inch-thick

book on field sobriety testing. Officers use field tests to

determine whether there is probable cause to arrest drinking drivers and

have their blood tested to determine whether they are driving

under the influence, defined by a blood alcohol level of .1 percent

or higher.

"That's what we'll be going over tonight," he said. At the

end of their shift, the evening watch will get a short refresher in

the procedures. Pitts rattles off the walking test, the one-leg

stand and others, explaining a point system for failures and what

it means. "Eighty percent are point one or more if they get four

points on this particular test," he says.

He knows the book cold. The department is slowly sending

every officer through the Georgia Public Safety Training

Center's course on sobriety testing. But even when they've all

been through the course, such refreshers will be part of their

in-service training.

Traffic is not the only area of training. Officers are trained

in report procedures, handling of evidence, handling domestic

violence, use of deadly force, supervision, management,

"verbal judo," emergency operations, crime scene processing... the

list is endless.

Police officers also are the city's front line when it comes to

public relations. How they deal with the public is a large part of the

city's image. Roberts said the department randomly surveys

people who have had dealings with the police, filling out a questionnaire.

"It gives us feedback as to how the citizens think we're

doing, and if there's anything negative it's addressed," said

Roberts. "Ninety-nine percent of the comments are outstanding," he added.

Officers rarely draw their weapons, but they have to be ready

in case that's needed. Each officer re-qualifies at least twice a year

in target shooting, said Pitts, including a thorough test that

involves shooting under a variety of conditions standing, sitting,

through a window, prone...

Capt. Steve Ledbetter, who is in charge of training and

accreditation overall, demonstrated the department's "Shoot, don't

shoot" computer program. Officers are given dozens of scenarios

and must decide whether it's appropriate in each case to use

deadly force. Any wrong answers are thoroughly discussed, and

too many wrong answers can bring additional training.

But Fayetteville's officers aren't just trying to maintain

levels of proficiency. Most, Pitts said, are working to increase their

skill levels and qualify for promotions and higher pay scales within

their ranks. "Patrolmen are working on their master police officer

rating," and so on, he said.

Sgt. Stavenger said his personal goal for this year is to "get

my management classes out of the way," one of the requirements

to make lieutenant. "To make lieutenant, you need 20 hours of

college and you can get the management classes afterward, but

my goal is to get them before," he added.

Such requirements for rank are not imposed by the state. In

fact, there are no state standards of education or training for levels

of rank. Fayetteville has written its own.

All of this training is not without a cost. Roberts estimated

the department spends about $15,000 a year for travel to special

seminars, though a variety of training is offered free (paid for by a

percentage of fines and forfeitures). A hidden cost is the loss of

personnel when on-duty officers are in training.

"You have to juggle people," he said. "It takes real good

planning."

If the system works right, Roberts said, the city will have a

highly professional department that improves safety for local

residents and reduces liability for the city government. But, he told the

City Council recently, if the rewards aren't commensurate with

that professionalism, Fayetteville could be wasting all of that

training as its officers move on to better paying jobs elsewhere.

The council responded with a new employee retention

program that raises pay for some officers as much as 30 percent in

their third year of employment, a year in which many tend to leave.

That does the trick for Pitts, he said. He'll be eligible for that

big pay increase in about eight months, and additional

training will help him increase his earnings still more.

"I've found a home here. I don't want to go anywhere," he said.

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