FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2023
MARTA POLICE DEPUTY CHIEF RETURNS FROM
EXECUTIVE TRAINING IN ISRAEL
ATLANTA — Deputy Chief Pearlie McKinzie of the
MARTA Police Department has returned to Georgia from Israel after an intensive
two weeks of public safety leadership training with the country’s top police
executives.
McKinzie
was part of a 20-member delegation that partnered with the Israel Police for
the Georgia International Law Enforcement
Exchange’s (GILEE) 30th annual peer-to-peer executive training program.
While in Israel, they were shown best practices and the latest technologies in
policing and public safety. They learned more about strategies to successfully
lead law enforcement programs and use community policing to build safer
neighborhoods for minority communities in partnership with all community
stakeholders.
The
delegation included 12 Georgia police chiefs and command staff — including the
Atlanta and Gwinnett public school system chiefs — three Georgia sheriffs, the
director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), a law enforcement
coordinator for the Department of Justice, the director of the Georgia Public
Safety Training Center, a deputy commissioner from the Georgia Department of
Public Safety and a senior law enforcement official from Tennessee.
Director
Michael Register of the GBI served as Head of Delegation. GILEE Founding
Director Robbie Friedmann and Associate Director Col. (Ret.) Brent Cummings led
the delegation while Assistant Director Nadia Borissova managed its
operations.
During
their orientation, the delegates heard from several former GILEE delegates
including Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy and John King, Georgia’s
Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, whose interest focused on the use of
volunteers in support of law enforcement operations during his time in Israel.
He gave the keynote address prior to their departure.
“This
will be the most impactful professional experience in your law enforcement
career,” King said. “This experience has forged relationships that will last a
lifetime. You’re going to be exposed to something truly extraordinary. It’s
important that you think now about what you’re going to bring back, how you’re
going to share your knowledge. You have a responsibility to give back.”
“GILEE gives U.S. law enforcement leaders an
opportunity to expand their professional perspective by visiting their peers,”
Cummings said. They are able to witness firsthand how their peers perform
differently but also share many similarities. This broadening experience
through peer-to-peer exchange makes these executives better leaders, which
helps our communities receive better services.”
Nearly
1,250 law enforcement executives from the U.S. and countries around the world
have graduated from GILEE peer-to-peer exchange programs during its 32 years.
Additionally, almost 43,000 public safety, homeland security and police
executives have attended GILEE-led special briefings, seminars, workshops,
training sessions and conferences featuring experts on issues related to
homeland security, public safety, community policing and law enforcement.
GILEE
is a research center within Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of
Policy Studies. It enhances public safety by nurturing partnerships within and
across public law enforcement agencies and the private sector. Celebrating its
30th anniversary this year, GILEE’s focus on the protection of civil and human
rights and its development of executive leadership exemplifies the core mission
of the school.
“’The
role of policing’ — to quote John Alderson, who many consider the father
of community policing in Britain in the 1970s and 80s — ‘is to guarantee the
freedom of movement of people and merchandise. Current policing policies and
practices are challenged by many communities and by decision makers’,”
Friedmann said. “Bringing police closer to the community and the community
closer to the police is the essence of community policing. We aim at sharing
best practices to achieve closer proximity with the community to provide better
police service.”
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