Following a meeting Aug. 1 that included representatives from three local law enforcement agencies and members of Statesboro's African-American community, Chief Deputy Jared Akins of the Sheriff’s Office said he learned that the office needs to make the public better aware of how complaints about officers’ actions are handled, he said. “We have a very strict process with Internal Affairs and the complaints process — the Police Department does also and so does GSU — but I think that’s one thing that a lot of people just didn’t have an understanding of, so we realize now that we probably need to put that out there a little bit more,” Akins said. Local law enforcement agencies have policies in place outlining proper officer behavior, as well as regarding proper ways to report complaints and the manner in which those complaints are handled.