Box 15, Folder 11, Document 38

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The Commission's coverage on police conduct has long
been implemented in the Atlanta Police Department, The rules
and regulations of this department cover every phase mentioned
in the report. From time to time, I am sure there are minor
violations of this rule. I have instructed the District Supers
visor to give cars in the slum areas of the City closer supervision
to see that tnese regulations are carried out,

Selecting the right officer for ghetto duty was put in
effect when our Crime Prevention Bureau and our Task Force was
implemented. It has been a practice of this department to re
assign and re=train officers when poor judgement has been used
and to credit officers doing a good job. We have not always put
our finest officers in slum areas, We have always tried to give
negro areas as good, if not better, police protection than white

areas since most of these areas are where our high crime rates are,

The Commission reported one city report showed it took

four times as long for police to respond to a negro area than a
white area. We have instructed all. of our officers to answer all
calls immediately,

The Commission recommended that grievances by citizens
should have some external review. We have an Internal Security
Squad that investigates all complaints against police and reports
directly to the Chief of Police and the Police Committee. A
city attorney also is assigned to make investigations within the

City government. The Grand Jury and Solicitor General has the






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authority to look into any police misconduct. The FBI is also
charged with this responsibility. I believe that any citizen
can get justice from one or all of the above investigative bodies.
The Commission recommended written departmental policy
for discretion and judgement in ghetto areas, Every situation
that arises in these areas are different. A Lot of these matters
have to be left up to the judgement of the patrolman or his
superior officer. Each officer is instructed when he has a
situation that is in question to notify his superior officer
immediately. This practice has worked successfully in the past,
The Commission recommended that we increase negro officers
within our department and reeassign more negro officers in slum
areas, This has been done, This department has hired all =
qualified applicants for years without regard to race, creed or
color. They also recommended the creation of community service
officers from ghetto areas and that these officers be hired on a
ratio of one for every ten police officers, We are now covering
ten EOA Centers and we understand there will be 62 schools, 40
parks and 20 play lots made available this summer. To police
these _places, it would be necessary for us to have our allotted
85 community service officers by summer, Our Crime Prevention
Bureau and these community service officers could work hand in
hand and assist the neighborhoods in all City services, They are
now working with school gounselors on absenteeism and school. drop
outs, assisting youth and adults in employment, meeting with civic

neighborhood groups and hearing and eliminating complaints on








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police service and working with our youth in recreational
activities. We might go one step further and also explain

to the people the Police Department's enforcement program in

an effort to show them that we are trying to better their comnunityc

The Commission has stated that preserving civil peace
is the first responsibility of the government, This we plan to
do, They point out, however, we must not mistake a peaceful ox
lawful demonstration as a riot. Maintaining civil order is the
responsibility of the entire community.

The initial incident in most cases started from routine
arrest. How the police and community respond to and deal with
such, may well determine whetiier they remain a minor police problem
or escalate into a major disorder.

If a situation arises that has racial overtones, our
officers are instructed to notify their superior officer immediately.
They are also instructed to notify tne commanding officer of the
Crime Prevention Bureau to move his entire squad inte the area and
attempt to settle the disorder, We feel that these men have been
working in these areas day in and day out and tney know their
grievances and complaints. If this fails, we then plan to move
in our Task Force who have been giving these areas good, tough
police service. They too, have been in and out of these areas
each day and know the problems that exist theree

The Commission has recommended that the police, when

sent in the areas, should know the underlying tensions and








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grievances and we believe tnat these two squads do» Naturally,
1f these two prevention squads fail, the riot squad will follow,
The Commission speaks of basic factors and causes and
mentions crowded ghetto living, worsen by summer heat and a large
amount of young people on the street. They do not think tnese
two problems could be remedied by the police. They also mentioned
hostility to police which we feel tnat we are trying to remedy
with the Crime Prevention Squad. They also mentioned delay in
police response in negro areas and I believe that with the coverage
we /have in these areas now, this is not the problem here. Rumors
and inadequate information in areas of this type always hurts the
police, We plan to use Crime Prevention men, Loud speakers and
ask the news media ror their assistancee
The Committee asks, “What are your control capabilities?*
A survey by them showed tnat only 13% of the uniform patrol are on
duty from 4:00 P.M. to 12:00 P.M. This is when 86% of all tne
disorders occurred, Again, we have tried to look ahead. Plus
our Evening Watch Uniform and Evening Watch Traffic, we have our
Crime Prevention Bureau and our Task Force working these hours,
We place a high premium on prevention of disorders,
On training, the Commission survey shows that most
police departments only give riot training to their recruits,
The average hour training tor these departments were 18 hours per
man. The National Guard requires 32 hours per man and 16 hours
for their commanding level officers. We have covered riot training

in recruit scnool on a Limited basis and given our older officers

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Training Keys on riot training. The FBI has published riot and

mob control in their bulletins, Our district supervisors have

discussed with their men what action should be taken in case of

a disorder. Discipline and command on the seas is one of our
most important factors. You Lose radio contact witn your officers
and they must be disciplined to stay within your command and

carry out your orders. Rocks and bottles being thrown can provoke
an officer into unilateral action. Of the disturbances that we
have had in Atlanta, the same tactics were not used at each
disorder. Depending on tactics used decisions must be determined
by the commanding officer on the scene.

The Commission asked when should and how much force
should be used? Should a looter be shot? This is something that
is already covered by State Law. The commanding officer and
sometimes the patrolman would have to determine thise The
Commission does recommend however, that the use of gas should
be used first in an effort to stop disturbance, looting, etce
Most departments have used what is regularly called "CN", The
Commission highly recommended "CS" gas as do other riot manuals.

What assistance can we expect from the community? We
believe that good law abiding citizens do not want riots and
disorders. They usually pass information that they hear along
to the police department. We have trained intelligence officers
that keep us informed on tensed situations. Our Crime Prevention
Bureau and our Task Force are in these areas daily and nightly

and gather a Lot of information from citigens,. Community leaders






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in the past have helped us considerably ih minor disorders and

we welcome their help. The Commission speke of the police

withdrawing from an area and letting community leaders try to

quieten a disorder. This should be determined by the commanding

officer on the scenes




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