WABE – NPR Atlanta

All Things Considered

January 20, 2021

Note: This is the second time in five days the anti-enforcement WABE has interviewed Owens. See also here.

 

Original audio here.

Transcription by Rev.com

–> Added info here.

‘Rebuilding That Trust We Have Lost’: New Cobb Sheriff Axes Immigration, Law Enforcement Program

WABE host Jim Burress:
You’re listening to All Things Considered on 90.1 WABE. I’m Jim Burress.

Another Atlanta area Sheriff new to the position is ending a partnership with federal immigration officials. Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens sent a memo to US Immigration And Customs Enforcement, or ICE, yesterday, saying his office would no longer participate in 287G. That provision deputizes local law enforcement to check the immigration status of those they detain, but has faced growing opposition. Immigration advocates say 287G encourages racial profiling and creates an unnecessary fear of law enforcement. Owens says there’s a lot of work to do to overcome those fears and rebuild community trust. Earlier, I talked to the Sheriff about his decision.

Sheriff Owens, was there a particular moment that you can remember when you decided, I’m going to end 287G?

Sheriff Craig Owens:
Not so much a particular moment, but maybe a particular incident, uh, that really got me very concerned about the program. And that relates back to when I was with the police department, uh, being a commander down in Precinct Two at Cobb County Police Department. It was the facts of us looking, trying to help our community with crimes they were having, but not reporting. So, uh, and we kinda got to the bottom of why this particular community’s not reporting crimes. Uh, I discovered that it’s because of the 287G and their fear of being deported. And it really hindered them to be in a safe community, and it hindered us from providing them with the safety they deserve and need.

So at that moment, you know, I, I started looking into it more and as a [inaudible 00:01:42] American Sheriff, I knew it something in my heart and also in my mind, as being a good steward of the citizens of Cobb County, something we did not wanna proceed with.

WABE host Jim Burress:
Uh, the program deputized local law enforcement with limited federal powers. So it’s, it’s kind of clear what federal immigration got in the deal. Was there every anything in it for Cobb County?

Sheriff Craig Owens:
Uh, from my perspective, no. Um, we were basically just providing them with free manpower to do a lot of the functions of the ICE agency.

WABE host Jim Burress:
What will it take to rebuild the support of the community that you say has been lost?

Sheriff Craig Owens:
That’s a great question. I think for us, in my perspective, it’s about us getting out and working in the community, not just talking, but actually getting out and being involved, um, and work in the community, rebuilding that trust that we have lost. You know, I stated during my press conference, you know, when I was the police department’s side, uh, the Hispanic communities always stated, “If you see blue …” And that’s officers in blue uniforms, “You can talk to them. But if you see deputies in brown, you need to run.” Because they was, you know, equating us to be ICE officials, so they wouldn’t talk.

So now, we gotta go back and rebuild that trust in our communities. And, uh, knock on doors, get them to talk to us, engage and us letting them know that hey, we’re here to help. If things are going wrong in the community, we need to know so we can provide you the assistance you need. That’s what I wanna do, rebuild that trust. That’s gonna be, uh, it’s gonna happen actually, hopefully by us having open dialogue. And it’s gonna be moved faster, faster, I think, in my mind, because I just hired a community liaison, Mr. Carlos Garcia, who will help us bridge that gap between law enforcement, community.

WABE host Jim Burress:
287G ends kind of a formal process, but it doesn’t necessarily end whatever preconceived notions or stereotypes, or even law enforcement’s learned behaviors behind 287G. How do you get that gone, so to speak?

Sheriff Craig Owens:
Well, I think how we start on that is beginning, by building trust and making sure that we are also educating our community as well as our officers about what we should be doing, how should, how we should be, um, dealing with different individuals, and making sure we doing that with dignity and respect all the time. And I think that education’s always important.

WABE host Jim Burress:
Describe for me what that education process looks like in your department.

Sheriff Craig Owens:
Yes. So, we wanna instill this, uh, culture diversity training. Because like it’s very important that all our officers understand how different cultures act during certain times. And so, I think it’s extremely important that we instill that into our training curriculum. But I wanna have a diverse workforce, of course. I wanna make sure we understand the diversity of the, of the citizens which we serve in Cobb County.

WABE host Jim Burress:
My last question, if there was another department out there considering dropping 287G, or even adopting it for that matter, um, making a change one way or the other, what would you say to the people making that decision?

Sheriff Craig Owens:
I would say look at your community. Listen to the needs of your community. You know, in Cobb, you know, there have been, they have been crying for help for years, um, from their local politicians and their elected leaders as well. You know, we’re here to protect and serve them, and again, to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

WABE host Jim Burress:
Craig Owens is the Sheriff of Cobb County. Sheriff Owens, thank you for talking to me today. I appreciate it.

Sheriff Craig Owens:
Oh, thank you so very much, and thank you for having me on.