BRUNSWICK, Ga. — What started out as implicit bias training, turned into a seminar to improve community policing.
People who live in Glynn County and its law enforcement worked together with one goal in mind, a safer Glynn County for everyone.
This was a two part seminar with the Public Safety Analytical Intelligence Consulting. It is an agency that examines how organizations can improve the relationship between the police and the public.
This is something police Chief Jacques Batiste wanted to introduce to his colleagues and constituents.
"This whole training you see before you, may have started out as an implicit bias training but it far exceeds into a community engagement, community outreach and a community policing triumvirate," Batiste explained.
The change the police chief wants to see cannot be a one-sided effort. Batiste said it is not about dividing the public, but "break down preconceived walls."
During the seminar, people in law enforcement and Glynn County residents worked in groups.
The objective was to come up with fresh ideas on how to advance communities, earn trust and come up with solutions together.
Yvette Myers wanted to be part of the solution - The catalyst to her attendance was how officials handled the murder case of Ahmaud Arbery.
"This is what we need," Myers said. "We need everyone from all walks of the community to come and make it whole. You can't do it by yourself."
Myers said her vision of a safer Glynn County includes less crime and more support for their police. To Batiste, efforts like this will help the community grow. People who attended the seminars said it is about accountability. The police chief said their effort focuses on a proactive community engagement. That means investing in the areas police patrol. Building the bridge involves working as a team.
"I've learned that- what I used to believe is that in each person there is inherit good," Batiste said. "That person has to come to terms with finding that themselves."
GCPD is also working on implementing a crisis intervention team with the county. While officers are trained in crisis interventions, Batiste said he wants the public to be educated along with them.