Nurys Camargo, Senior Policy Advisor, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Have you thought about your personal perceptions towards people and how it affects the way we treat them at times? How we grew up, what are parents said around the house and what we watch on TV often play huge factors when it comes to racial profiling. Thanks to a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on Tuesday, March 15, 2010, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, together with the Highway Safety Division, launched our Fair and Impartial Policing Training at UMASS Boston for law enforcement officials, as well as residents and community leaders.
We hope that creating these trainings will enhance the understanding of racial profiling and how the brain works and reacts. What I’m most excited about is that these trainings were developed using the stories and experiences of real people, both law enforcement personnel and community residents from all over the Commonwealth.
The Fair and Impartial Policing training will be available to anyone interested in preventing racial profiling, understand how it works and how it can affect everyday business. Most importantly, this training will focus on how racial profiling affects both the person in question and the law enforcement officer.
Topics covered in the modules include cultural influences, unconscious biases and even innate biological factors that influence how individuals react during a range of community and police interactions. These influences, including their effects and repercussions, are examined by experts from both the police and community perspectives.
The Fair and Impartial Training Workshops will serve as an important tool to help prevent racial profiling in Massachusetts. Racial profiling can occur anywhere, anytime with anyone for whatever reason! Become aware!
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