If members of the community feel that their own concerns are not understood, their confidence in law enforcement personnel to meet these needs may be severely diminished. Unfortunately, this can adversely impact cooperation for reporting crimes and providing information vital to solving crimes.
The program helps civilian and law enforcement personnel to:
- Critically examine stereotypes and cultural assumptions that are often held by the community and by the law enforcement professionals who serve the community.
- Examine ways participants perceive others, how others perceive them and how this impacts officer effectiveness and, ultimately, officer safety
- Observe and experience cultural differences, to increase awareness of attitudes and behaviors, and to appreciate the commonalities that exist across diverse cultures
- Discuss the negative effects of prejudice and discrimination and thereby become empowered to confront these divisive issues
- Examine how diversity skills directly affect law enforcement work, including its relationship to hate crime investigations
- Create a situation that will reinforce the concept of team building
- Turn knowledge into usable skills for serving a diverse community
