UAPD Implementing New Training Program As Unanswered Questions Linger

TUSCALOOSA, AL — University of Alabama Police Department employees were notified via email Monday morning of a new mandatory training program handed down by the UA administration, which comes amid concern and murmurs in the community regarding the culture within the department.

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Patch obtained a copy of the email to UAPD staff, which saw UA Vice President for Finance and Operations Matthew M. Fajack announce that he has been in talks about the initiative with the National Command & Staff College.

Fajack wrote of the program: "My goal is to garner a robust line of succession and a greater depth of professionalism that will provide opportunities for career advancement, enhance our quality of service delivery and further bolster a workplace that embraces wellness, leadership, resilience, and anti-fragility."

Describing its range of expected outcomes, the training organization on its website says that the National Command & Staff College has been proven to help agencies reduce risk and liability, internal/external complaints, litigation and legal settlements.

"This letter is to introduce you to the first step in plans being made, based on feedback received either directly or indirectly from many of you," the email says. "I have enlisted the expertise of a Nationally recognized leadership training organization to guide this transition and I'm excited to announce that we will soon be offering leadership development opportunities to every level in the organization, both professional staff and sworn personnel. The training will be structured for everyone from the line level through the top executives."

UAPD employees were then told to expect more on the program in the coming week.

Patch contacted Fajack following the announcement, but our query was referred to the University of Alabama's Office of Strategic Communications. UA officials have yet to speak on or even formally acknowledge the program, despite numerous requests for comment by Patch over the last several days.

The revelation also presents itself at a turbulent time for the department. Faced with unprecedented staffing shortages on its force, several background sources have raised questions in recent months about the goings-on within the department and that of its leadership.

Little is available in the way of anecdotal evidence on the record, though, as some close to the situation fear retaliation, while others decline after citing their connections to the university.

However, according to the University of Alabama's online payroll database, UAPD Chief John Hooks only received a portion of his $14,000 monthly salary during the January 2022 pay period — $7,531.99, to be specific. While nothing has been confirmed or denied by UA officials, the cut in pay is commensurate with what a mandatory two-week suspension or standard administrative leave without pay situation would look like from the financial side.

UA officials, however, have been reticent when pressed about any past or ongoing incidents within the department that required disciplinary action, in addition to providing little in the way of insight concerning the new training program that was just announced earlier this week for the entire department.

These details also come at a time of high turnover and strained staffing within a department that has one of the most competitive pay and benefits packages in the state. Once viewed as one of the most-coveted jobs in local law enforcement, UAPD has made no secret of its recent retention problems.

For example, Patch has been provided numerous instances of officers on the UAPD force leaving for jobs with other agencies in the area — a concept few would have believed a decade ago.

It should be noted that while staffing issues in law enforcement are not necessarily isolated to UAPD, with the Tuscaloosa Police Department losing four officers in just one week in February, the pay cut for Hooks is a difficult detail to overlook, especially considering the timing.

Tuscaloosa Patch brought up the noticeable pay cut when asking university officials if they could elaborate on any recent or ongoing investigations of UAPD officials, to which UA spokesman Shane Dorrill declined to provide specifics, citing the request as pertaining to a "personnel matter."

Dorrill did, however, reiterate that Hooks is still the University of Alabama's police chief.

There is no doubt that Hooks is still on the job, as he even recently spoke on the issues of retention and the need for increased training during the first Next Level Series event of the year, hosted earlier this month by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.

It was on this panel of other local law enforcement leaders that Hooks appeared to foreshadow new training on the horizon for the department, as he underscored the need to "pivot" and recognize what's being asked of UAPD's officers. The challenges in retention, in his view, can be seen in the generational changes in the expectations on law enforcement and the ever-evolving range of dangers and technological nuances facing those wearing a badge.

Above all, though, Hooks said the main issue is a simple one when it comes to recruiting and retaining quality officers.

"I can train people to be a police officer," Hooks said. "I can train people to be a cop. But I can't train them to be a good human ... If you don't have those natural characteristics and traits, maybe [law enforcement] isn't right for you."

As for the new training in the works for UAPD, it remains unclear at this time what exactly prompted the unexpected decision — one that appears to have been met by many in the department with a prevailing feeling of being punished.

In an effort to gain further clarity, Tuscaloosa Patch has filed several public records requests with the University of Alabama to obtain documentation relating to any and all disciplinary action taken within its police department during the last several months.

It's important to note that while state law does require acknowledgment of a public records request on the part of the recipient — which UA honors with an automated receipt — public institutions are not mandated to actually honor the request within any set time frame, making the likelihood quite low for hopes of receiving an expedited response.

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