Diversity training v Field Experiences

[Phouse70]

I'm writing an essay, and in the prompt my professor pointed me to this website (even though I've been posting here for awhile... sort of strange) to help answer an essay question. I know you mostly don't help people with essays and stuff, but I figured I'd take a shot anyway. Thanks for responding, if any of you folks do.

Basically, I just want loose input from you guys. No need to cite you by name, etc., I'd just cite the website. If you don't want to write it here, feel free to PM me.

Essentially, my essay is covering the diversity (not just race... age, life experience, etc) training you are given versus the way it works in the field. I'm going to be using my own experiences (my CSO job, ride alongs), the text we've been reading in class, and hopefully a couple of responses you folks provide.

My questions for you guys,

What, if any, differences exist between your department and the people you serve?

What, if any, training are you given? Classroom instructions, or sit downs with community members, etc.

How does that relate to the job when you're on it? Has it been effective in giving you a platform on which to bridge those differences?

Lastly, what type of training improvements would you like to see?

Do you have any additional comments regarding diversity and the training for handling it?

[Sleuth]

I found our "diversity training" to be a joke, prepared by folks in academia with zero practical experience. What may be true of their college colleagues does not hold true for the general population.
Some people choose to be criminals as a lifestyle. Much crime is related to socio-economic strata and income, not race. But members of certain races choose to skip getting an education, end up with low paying (or no) jobs, and thus choose to engage in crime. They also choose to disdain the police, seeking confrontation so they can justify their illegal acts with the race card.
Add in the pervasive problems of drugs, and the desire to feed their habits without any earned money, and you have a recipe for cops to be called racists.
Plus our welfare system dis-encourages people for seeking work.

Edited to add: There are some racial characteristics it is useful to know - for example, what is a sign of respect in one culture (not looking a person in the eyes when talking) can be a sign of deceit in another culture. Or that men holding hands when they walk is not a sign of sexual orientation, but of culture.
Our rule was simple - break the law, go to jail, regardless of your race. Don't break the law, there is no reason for us to interact, regardless of your race - or mine.

[SRT936]

I don't normally respond to "homework" threads, but the topic intrigued me.

What, if any, differences exist between your department and the people you serve?

Virtually none. The majority of our department grew up here (although that's starting to change) so we're fully invested in our community from the start.

What, if any, training are you given? Classroom instructions, or sit downs with community members, etc.

We get mandatory "sensitivity" and "diversity" training that is the biggest waste of time and money our department spends. Usually, it ends up being some guy (or gal) that comes in from some big city on one of the coasts that spends anywhere from 8 hours to 24 hours lecturing us on how we're all uncivilized pigs, racists, sexists, and any other -ist you can think of. Then they go on to "instruct" us on how to "feel" like the people we serve. At the last class, we were told that any man we encounter during a domestic disturbance needs to be arrested immediately, regardless of whether or not they were the offender. If the woman was the offender, it was the man who drove her to it....

As far as talking to the community, I do that every day. I talk to clerks at the gas stations, waitresses at the restaurants, secretaries in the offices, guys walking their dogs, etc., etc., etc. Police work is an information driven business and the best sources of information is talking to people. I have yet to have a problem relating to people.

How does that relate to the job when you're on it? Has it been effective in giving you a platform on which to bridge those differences?

Talking to people, being empathetic towards people, and understanding people is paramount to effectively talking to people whether they're suspects, victims, witnesses or just Joe Q. Citizen.

I have never been to a "diversity" class that taught any of those things. Quite frankly, it was the Interview and Interrogation classes that actually taught useful information in that regard.

Lastly, what type of training improvements would you like to see?

Diversity training that was designed for the corporate world will not work in the law enforcement world so quit trying to teach it to us. As I've said above, I have had some law enforcement specific training (like I&I) that did teach effective means of bridging the cultural gaps between people. If they want to make us more successful, teach it in a manner that actually brings tools to the toolbox instead of "feelings" and "gaps."

Do you have any additional comments regarding diversity and the training for handling it?

See above. Most diversity training we're forced to attend spends more time trying to create divisions and widen gaps of understanding than they do trying to bridge those gaps. Give me tools I can use, not accusations I can't.

[Iowa #1603]

I don't normally respond to "homework" threads, but the topic intrigued me.


Most diversity training we're forced to attend spends more time trying to create divisions and widen gaps of understanding than they do trying to bridge those gaps. Give me tools I can use, not accusations I can't.

Pretty much my experience also........

[PhilipCal]

I'll adjust my normal policy of not doing homework for other people. Diversity training? What a freakin joke!!. Over the years I had to attend several sessions. They are total B.S. Each "instructor" had an evident agenda, zero LE experience, yet was fully prepared to tell a group of Officers how to do their jobs. Here's how I handled diversity when I was working. I attempted to treat people as I would want to be treated myself. I was as pleasant to people as they allowed me to be. In that effort, I made no distinction with respect to race, creed, color. and all the hot button issues, the media just loves to distort and exploit. Diversity training? Simple as the Golden Rule.

[Phouse70]

Yea, sorry about the "can you help with my homework" feel of the topic. But, I figured I could get additional insight into the topic. I like what I see from you guys so far-- mostly in the direction I wanted to go in... especially this:

Most diversity training we're forced to attend spends more time trying to create divisions and widen gaps of understanding than they do trying to bridge those gaps. Give me tools I can use, not accusations I can't.

and this:

Diversity training? Simple as the Golden Rule.

SRT936:

I don't normally respond to "homework" threads, but the topic intrigued me.

Me too! That's why I came to you guys... nobody can tell it better than those who are living it. Thanks for the responses.

[Zeitgeist]

[QUOTE=PhilipCal;2694905]I'll adjust my normal policy of not doing homework for other people. Diversity training? What a freakin joke!!. Over the years I had to attend several sessions. They are total B.S. Each "instructor" had an evident agenda, zero LE experience, yet was fully prepared to tell a group of Officers how to do their jobs. Here's how I handled diversity when I was working. I attempted to treat people as I would want to be treated myself. I was as pleasant to people as they allowed me to be. In that effort, I made no distinction with respect to race, creed, color. and all the hot button issues, the media just loves to distort and exploit. Diversity training? Simple as the Golden Rule.[/QUOTE]

+1000

[mdrdep]

PHouse one of the reasons you are getting responses is because you were polite and honest, a rare combination around here lately.

In Los Angeles there is the "Museum of Tolerance" run by the Simon Weisenthal Center. I had to go there as part of my diversity training. Thought I was going to hate it, but actually enjoyed the day. It was the only such training where they really didn't try to shove an us vs. them mentality down your throat. They just did a good job of pointing out that everyone has prejudices and biases and what they can lead to when taken to the extreme or when we allow our pre beliefs to become a part of our job. Plus the history they cover and exhibits from The Holocaust are pretty good.


Other than that most of the training has been from people representing specific groups and telling us why we should just leave them alone or take their side vs. somebody else, which is BS because we are supposed to be neutral to all that.

As SRT said the best training in how to deal with other cultures and how they act/react was in interview courses run by cops, not give me a hug idiots.

[Iowa #1603]

Due to an "incident" several years ago (I don't' even remember what it was) . During the last 3 yrs EVERY state of Iowa employee had to receive diversity training per an executive order of the Governor.

As a Supervisor, I was lucky enough to not only be required to go thru the employees 8 hr class, but also the supervisor's 8 hr class.

The Department of Management contracted this training out to some firm out of the East Coast...............................and of course was the "hug-a-minority" classes described by everyone else on this thread.

There were some lively discussions in the Supervisors class--------------------led by a few of the people who were real close to retirement.

[RaucousSilence]

What, if any, differences exist between your department and the people you serve?

I've lived here for 10 years, and am still identified as "one of those damn yankees."

What, if any, training are you given? Classroom instructions, or sit downs with community members, etc.

I got 2 books written by Jeff Foxworthy.... and some bootleg "trucker country" tapes.....

Seriously, outside of my yearly state-mandated waste of time racial profiling training and biannual state-mandated even bigger waste of time diversity training, not much. We're not that diverse here. Any anyone that thinks that redneck only applies to a certain race needs to come and work the night shift with me some weekend.

How does that relate to the job when you're on it? Has it been effective in giving you a platform on which to bridge those differences?

Honestly, no.

Lastly, what type of training improvements would you like to see?

None. If you want to give me training, make it worthwhile. Don't send some damn academic to lecture me for 4 hours on "hispanic culture" {here's a clue: there are now fewer than 30 unique cultures that fall under the title hispanic, you moron}, send me a native speaker that can work on useful things like basic comprehension and first-hand experience.

Do you have any additional comments regarding diversity and the training for handling it?

Diversity here is what kind of truck you drive. "Watch out for that guy in the Titan, he's a damn foreigner. Well, not so much him, but his truck. You know what I mean."