Wayne Dennard

ACWORTH

POLICE DEPARTMENT

From left, Sgt. Bo Jordan, Sgt. Youlanda McIntosh and Cpl. Lamar Almon with a couple of recipients of gift baskets delivered to Barber Middle School during Teacher Appreciation Week in May.

Building Trust is a Key To Community’s Success

BY WAYNE DENNARD

I believe that, next to God and individual families, the local community is the most important part of our country. As humans, we need community to survive in this world. We need a group of people working together to accomplish a common goal. None of us can do it alone. We each have a role to play that is desperately important to the community’s success. We cannot survive alone.

We endeavor to find purpose, to grow and to reach new heights. Individually, we never would be able to do these things. We would have to fight to fulfill our basic necessities: food, water, shelter. But together, we can meet those basic needs and build upon them. In order to secure these necessities, we must have security. The community we build determines our survival and our ability to thrive, and I am grateful Acworth has a thriving community.

Ensuring our community’s continued success by providing safety and security is the first priority of the police. We are here to protect the community, but we can’t do that alone. We need our residents and business owners to believe in and participate in our mission. In other words, to protect the people, the people must trust their police officers and believe in their mission. How do we achieve that? By showing that police officers are not just law enforcement; we are active participants in the community. Sir Robert Peel, the father of modern policing, said it best: “The police are the public, and the public are the police.” We are part of the community we serve. We don’t participate from afar; we are hands-on and all-in. We build relationships with business owners, residents and visitors. We are invested in the success of the city because we also live, work and play here. At the Acworth Police Department, each member of our staff is part of the community, and we are committed to ensuring our department deserves the public’s trust.

So, how do we build trust? By spending time with people and doing the right thing. Every employee at our agency is taught this principle on his or her first day. Spending time is first and foremost. We do not rush through our interactions with those we serve. We understand that, when community members reach out to the police department, it usually is due to a stressful event in their life, and it’s typically the most important interaction they will have that day. While it might be a routine matter to some, we know there is nothing routine about it. We spend time listening, discussing, problem-solving and letting people know their situation is as important to us as it is to them.

Doing the right thing is all about integrity. No matter what, we always will do what is right, what is legal, and what is proper. Along with spending time, having integrity and making the right decisions also are vital to our ability to serve the community. As a result of our dedication to these principles, the community trusts our agency and our officers, and together, we are able to ensure our collective, shared success.

Wayne Dennard has served as chief since 2012 and has lived in this community for more than 40 years.