FORSYTH, Ga. — Law enforcement is back behind the wheel for training in the Peach State.
"You're behind the wheel for 12 hours at a time. That's your office, everything you do is from your vehicle," says Hall County Sheriff's Office Deputy Donna Bennett.
After a temporary pause on classes at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, Bennett is eager to get back on the course.
She says she is learning, "how to negotiate turns, and drive at high speeds, and do it all safely and keep it on four wheels."
The driver training courses are crucial to Bennett's role as a deputy.
"It's vital. It's our most important piece of equipment, really outside of anything else, because we can't get there, then we can't help," says Bennett.
These techniques are something law enforcement personnel across the state have to master in order to get their badges.
"When it comes to driver training, you can only teach so much in a classroom, and then you have to put the student in the seat and behind the wheel, and actually give them practice and give them drive time, too," says John Hutcheson with GPSTC.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still going on, the training center is taking temperatures before people enter campus, asking people to wear masks, social distance, and wash hands frequently.
"At times, we would put two students into a car, and they would ride with a partner, but we've had to back and put one person in a car just to maintain that social distancing," says Hutcheson.
The two-month hold on training delayed some officers from receiving their necessary certifications.
"They're looking at a two-month postponement as far as putting more officers on the roads," says Hutcheson.
The delays aren't seen to make a major impact for law enforcement, "I think anything beyond that, like if you went six months without training, that can be detrimental," says Bennett.
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