Biography
Melissa D. White began her career in Law Enforcement in 1995 as a Communications Officer with the Covington-Newton County 911 Center in Covington, Georgia. After four years of service, White decided to pursue her interests in the private sector and held several positions including court transcriptionist, administrative assistant, and licensed real estate agent.
In 2008, White returned to Covington-Newton County 911 as a Communications Officer. While employed with Covington-Newton County 911, she was promoted and assigned as team leader in January 2009. As a team leader, White supervised six communications officers, investigated complaints/libelous incidents, and reviewed and updated departmental policy. White also co-developed and assisted in the implementation of classroom training for Covington-Newton County 911 communications officer trainees in 2010.
White was selected to serve as CALEA Accreditation Manager in September 2011 and became responsible for maintaining the center’s accreditation files and preparing for the center’s re-accreditation in August 2012. In this role, she was instrumental in preparing the Covington-Newton County 911 Center for the Gold Standard Assessment Process developed by CALEA in 2011. The Gold Standard Assessment Process is a voluntary process that involves measuring the impact of accreditation on an agency rather than a simple file-by-file review. White successfully prepared and maintained all the accreditation files and the Covington-Newton County 911 Center received CALEA Accreditation with Gold Standard at the November 2012 CALEA Conference in Jacksonville, FL.
In 2012, White joined the staff of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center’s Instructional Services Division assigned to the Instructional Development and Delivery Section. In this position, White coordinated the Instructor Training Course and taught public safety personnel from state and local agencies classroom delivery and lesson plan development.
In July 2016, White was promoted to the Curriculum Development section of the Instructional Services Division as a supervisor. In the position, she supervises two curriculum specialists, a videographer, technical analysts/graphic designer, the Basic Communications Officer Training Program, and the Instructor Training Program. Additionally, White develops and writes online training on various topics for communication officers, law enforcement, and assisted with the development of safety training for the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. Recently, White supervised the production of a video-based learning course, Start the Conversation Documentary, which addresses public safety stress, PTSD, line of duty deaths, suicide, and best practices for public safety agencies. White is currently pursuing a Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree with a minor in Psychology at Troy University in Troy, Alabama with an anticipated graduation of March 2020.
Professional Certifications:
GA POST Communications Officer
GA POST General Instructor
GA POST Senior Instructor
GA POST Master Instructor
GA POST Emergency Medical Instructor
Publications/Manuals:
Law Enforcement Dispatching and Call Taking Skills, Covington-Newton County 911 (2010)
Handling TTY Calls (2015)
Test Management and Administration (2016)
Cultural Awareness (2016)
Fostering Positive Community Relations (2016)
Building Positive Community Relations (2017)
Serving Georgia’s Diverse Communities (2017)
At-Risk Adults (2018)
Human Trafficking (2018)
Sovereign Citizen Encounters (2019)
Start the Conversation Documentary (2019)
Professional Memberships:
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO)
International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST)
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) International