Atlanta Public Schools launches initiative to boost police recruitment
APS police face recruiting challenges
School resources officers often come to the forefront in responding to events like school shootings, but the chief of the Atlanta Public's Schools Police Department says his officers deal with a lot more than violent tragedy. APS's top cop says recruiting can be challenging, that is one of the reasons his department has started a new initiative in hopes of getting more officers in the schools.
ATLANTA - School shootings have grabbed the headlines lately, particularly with Apalachee High, but the Chief of the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department says his officers deal with a lot more than violent tragedy. APS's top cop says recruiting can be challenging, which is one of the reasons his department has started a new initiative in hopes of getting more officers in the schools.
"I feel amazing. I went through 10 weeks of training and I did it," Atlanta Public Schools Officer Kina Lang said. The 53-year-old is the first applicant hired without certification. APS has restructured its hiring rules. They still want top-notch candidates, but they will send those recruits to the police academy after they have been hired.
Chief Ronald Applin/Atlanta Public Schools "The competition is such that we're basically fishing in the same pond when you think about all of the agencies that are looking for qualified applicants to be police officers and that's a challenge," Chief Ronald Applin affirmed. Officer Lang and 21 other recruits graduated from the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy on Friday. The chief is hopeful that this new hiring flexibility will help him fill 30 current vacancies after the school board voted to add 45 School resource officers to the district's elementary schools in October, bringing the state's largest police school district to 177 sworn officers.
"You have to find people who want to be a police officer, who want to work with kids, they have to be qualified with no tattered background. So we are looking for someone who is almost perfect," Chief Applin said.
Officer Lang says don't let the gray hair fool you, she is ready to connect with the kids.
"Some of my classmates were like, they’re going to call you, Grandma. I said I have thick skin, five brothers, I am the only girl it doesn’t bother me. In the meantime, you are going to do like I ask you to do," she said sternly with a smile.
Chief Applin is hopeful this new initiative will help him fill those 30 vacancies soon.
The Source: This article is based on original reporting by FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor