UWG Stories
Chief Jeff Turner
“I wanted to be involved with the community I lived in,” Turner said. “Serving society allows you to help bring out the good in people. That’s one of the things I like best about my job.”
With an interest in criminal justice and a father in the military, University of West Georgia alum and Clayton County police chief Jeff Turner knew what he sought to do in life.
“I wanted to be involved with the community I lived in,” Turner said. “Serving society allows you to help bring out the good in people. That’s one of the things I like best about my job.”
Turner said his experiences at UWG and the diverse interaction with other students and faculty helped him prepare for networking and a career. The face-to-face interaction and seeing what was involved—such as a large percentage of police work is dealing with paperwork—showed what being in law enforcement was really about.
“The classes didn't glorify or exaggerate the duties and responsibilities of a police officer, such as on TV, but instead provided me with a realistic expectation of what real law enforcement entailed,” Turner observed. “The classes also taught me that community involvement is imperative in police work. That is one of the reason's why I initiated Community Oriented Policing, where the same officer is assigned to a specific geographical area on a permanent basis, in my department.”
In addition to his position as police chief, Turner’s accomplishments outside of UWG include executive level management training and a 10-week leadership program at the FBI National Academy.
In the meantime, he said he has never forgotten his time at UWG.
“I was there in 1982 when we won the national championship in Division III,” Turner continued. “In supporting our football team, everyone became a big family.
“West Georgia is a great school, and I had a great experience,” he said.
“A lot of good people have received a degree from UWG and are very successful,” Turner concluded. “Graduating from West Georgia is a great accomplishment.”
