Citizens meet police chief candidates in Sylvester

SYLVESTER — By the time the city of Sylvester’s town hall meet-and-greet, held at City Hall in the old train depot, got under way Tuesday evening, only the chairs on the front row remained unoccupied. Plenty were obviously interested in meeting the two finalists for the Sylvester Police Department’s chief position.

The audience was given an agenda upon arrival that included five questions each candidate would be asked. Finalists Maj. Karen Anderson of the DeKalb County Police Department and Chief Anson Evans of the Jeffersonville Police Department were not provided with the questions.

Jason Armstrong, the Criminal Justice program coordinator at Albany State University, served as moderator at the meet-and-greet.

Candidates were asked about their interest in Sylvester and their motivation in pursuing the position as head of the local police department.

Anderson said that she has a love for rural areas and even currently lives in a subdivision that borders farmland in north Georgia’s DeKalb County. She also is a graduate of Georgia Southern University.

After researching the Sylvester Police Department, at times through Open Records requests, she said she made the decision to apply for the position. She has also visited the community several times on her own recently and said she likes what she has experienced during those visits.

Evans remarked that Sylvester seems to be a great place to continue work on his doctoral dissertation. He told the crowd he feels Sylvester will provide a great place to conduct research and write. He said he wants the citizens to know him when they see him, akin to how everyone knew Andy and Barney in Mayberry.

Both candidates said that community involvement plays a large part in lowering crime as well as officer and citizen morale. The two also agree that the department needs to begin a Citizens Police Academy. Programs for children, including drug prevention, were additional common threads between Anderson and Evans.

When it comes to budgeting, Evans said his plans include looking at individual budget items and looking for places to cut. Mentioning old cars that cost too much in repairs, uniforms, vests, payroll and a number of other things, Evans said he would like to cut the budget in every way possible and hopefully return some funds to the city coffers by increasing accountability of budgeted items. Technology, however, is not an area that Evans would trim. He expressed the need to increase the use of social media and also to add the technology needed to analyze crime within the community.

Anderson said the budget should reflect what is needed within the department, and those needs should be justifiable. Her policy is not so much about cutting the budget, she said, as it is augmenting the budget with sponsors, such as for bullet-proof vests, and to use citizen volunteers when feasible. Anderson also said she has experience writing grants to help cover department shortfalls.

On the topic of ethics, Anderson said she wants the department’s officers to do the right thing, even when no one is looking. If there is an issue of officer behavior, training can be offered to help the men and women not just hear what is expected of them but to understand why policies are in place.

On the ethics topic, Evans stated that the Sylvester Police Department currently has no employee handbook. And while there are policies and procedures in place, he said there is a need for a handbook to cover all areas pertaining to the department’s motto and mission to discipline.

After forum’s the question-and-answer session was over, attendees, which numbered around 40, including a dozen or so law enforcement officers, mingled about the depot. Snacks were served and the candidates spoke to individuals throughout the crowd.

While the decision as to which finalist will be offered the position falls on the shoulders of the city manager, Autron Hayes, he said he plans to allow a few days for citizen feedback. After that, the decision will be made and the Sylvester Police Department will have a new chief.