16 Senior Police and Public Safety Executives Return from Police Executive Training in Israel

ATLANTA—Eight Georgia police chiefs and command staff, three Georgia sheriffs, the director of the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council and a Georgia Bureau of Investigation assistant director have returned from Israel after an intensive two weeks of public safety leadership training with the country’s top police executives.

They were joined by senior law enforcement officials from Tennessee, North Carolina and Colorado in a 16-member delegation who participated in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange’s (GILEE) 28th annual peer-to-peer executive training program in partnership with the Israel Police. While there, they were shown best practices and the latest technologies in policing and public safety. The delegation was led by GILEE Founding Director Dr. Robbie Friedmann and GILEE Associate Director Col. (Ret.) Gery Cummings.

Continuity of service joined community policing as a focus this year. Acknowledging the more than 700,000 American police who have served on the front lines during an unprecedented pandemic and period of social unrest, GILEE’s delegates learned more about strategies to successfully lead ongoing, nonstop law enforcement services while building stronger, safer and better community relations through community policing.

Community policing recognizes the need for greater accountability, a greater public share in decision-making and a greater concern for civil rights and liberties, according to Professor Emeritus and GILEE Founding Director Robbie Friedmann, who formulated the definition.

“GILEE facilitates peer-to-peer professional development programs that build better networks among law enforcement professionals, allowing for stronger public safety and improved community policing across Georgia, the U.S. and internationally,” Cummings said. “Law enforcement executives learn from experiencing first-hand  how others police in a variety of cultures, which fosters growth and enlightenment on new ways to approach challenges at home, enhancing the communities we all live in.”

More than 1,100 public safety officials—most from Georgia—have participated in the program in Israel. More than 40,000 have attended additional GILEE trainings, briefings, seminars and workshops in Georgia and around the world.

“Trying to describe the meaningful impact of participating in the GILEE delegation to Israel to others is no small task,” said Chief Janet Moon of the Peachtree City Police Department, president of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, and a GILEE delegate in 2015. “Observing how the Israeli Police interacted with people very diverse from them was inspirational. The Israeli Police embraced this diversity within its own ranks as well. I found the experience very rewarding in a way that led me to expand upon my commitment and resolve to utilize principles of community policing.”

GILEE is a research center within Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies that enhances public safety by nurturing partnerships within and across public law enforcement agencies and the private sector. Learn more at gilee.gsu.edu.