Law enforcement facing legal trouble emphasize importance of recruitment

ATLANTA - Over the past 6 months, FOX 5 has covered several metro Atlanta area sheriff's deputies who've been arrested and face serious charges. Those charges range from child molestation to DUI. 

Law enforcement experts spoke with FOX 5 about protocol during these investigations and how important it is to prevent them.

Georgia's Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, or POST, said there are typically 1,500 investigations involving officer misconduct per year out of about 60,000 law enforcement personnel in the state of Georgia. Experts said their standards are high during recruitment and high during these internal investigations.

Just about every metro Atlanta area sheriff's office is hiring.

"A lot of people didn't just want to be law enforcement in 2020," Sgt. Jeremy Blake, with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office, said.

"We have to do more than just a job interview. We have to look at their social media. We have to ask for references," National law enforcement analyst and former DeKalb County Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander said. 

In October of last year, a former DeKalb County detention officer was charged with having sex with an inmate.

In December, FOX 5 reported a Rockdale County deputy who was charged with DUI.

In January, a former Cobb County deputy was charged after contraband was found in a detention center.

Just this month, a Spalding County deputy was charged with sending obscene material to a teenager and a DeKalb County deputy was charged with child molestation and rape.

Georgia's Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, or POST, said it oversees these investigations and the number of cases is typical.

"If you look at overall numbers [compared to last year] it will be fairly consistent," POST's Mike Ayers said.

"People make mistakes," Alexander explained, "But law enforcement officers are held to a higher standard."

Alexander said the misconduct highlights the importance of a robust recruitment process. 

That's not lost on the Cobb County Sheriff's office.

Sgt. Jeremy Blake said they've revamped their recruitment process over the past year. There are now four recruitment officers, as opposed to two. They go to hiring events and seek out recruits as opposed to hosting stand-alone events, expecting recruits to come to them.

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