Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Attorney General
Mark Herring |
202 North Ninth Street |
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Michael Kelly, Director of Communications
Phone: (804)786-5874
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HERRING CONCLUDING SERIES OF REGIONAL TRAININGS ON FAIR AND IMPARTIAL POLICING
~ During five regional "train-the-trainer" sessions around the state, 127 law enforcement officers have been prepared to train their own agencies and colleagues on implicit bias ~
MIDDLETOWN(October 26, 2016)-Attorney General Mark R. Herring today kicked off the fifth and final in a series of regional trainings on implicit bias as part of his initiative to promote safe, fair, 21st century policing, and to help build trust and lines of communication between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. During five regional training sessions led by "Fair and Impartial Policing," a nationally renowned and highly-respected training firm, 127 law enforcement officers who serve as trainers in their own agency have learned how to train their fellow officers on implicit bias awareness. By adding significant training capacity to Virginia's law enforcement community, Attorney General Herring has made a lasting investment that will help thousands of Virginia officers receive this important training and make communities across the Commonwealth safer. Trainings have previously been held in Staunton, Newport News, Danville, and Abingdon.
"I'm really glad we were able to make implicit bias training more widely available because this was one of the key things that law enforcement and community leaders both told me they wanted more of in Virginia," said Attorney General Herring. "This training is quickly becoming part of the new standard in 21st century policing and I want Virginia to be a national leader in embracing these kinds of data-driven strategies that make our communities safer and promote fair and equal treatment. The 'train-the-trainer' format has really given us a big multiplier effect that will continue to benefit our officers and our communities for years to come."
Regional trainings are part of Attorney General Herring's efforts to promote mutual trust and respect between Virginia communities and their law enforcement agencies, and to advance the dual goals of promoting public safety while ensuring everyone is treated fairly and equally. Participating agencies and officers have committed to training their fellow officers in their agencies and across the state, producing a strong multiplier effect that will make additional training available to even more Virginia law enforcement officers, especially in smaller agencies or underserved areas.
During the series of five regional trainings, 51 Virginia law enforcement agencies sent at least one officer for train-the-trainer instruction, including:
Albemarle County Police Department Alexandria Police Department Altavista Police Department Arlington County Police Department Bristol Virginia Police Department Buena Vista Police Department Cardinal Academy Central VA Criminal Justice Academy Chesapeake Police Department Crater Criminal Justice Training Academy Culpeper Police Department Danville Police Department Falls Church Police Department Franklin County Sheriff's Office Frederick County Sheriff's Office Fredericksburg Police Department Gloucester County Sheriff's Office Hampton Police Department Hampton University Police Department Hanover County Sheriff's Office Harrisonburg Police Department James City County Police Department Leesburg Police Department Loudoun County Sheriff's Office Lynchburg Police Department Lynchburg Sheriff's Office |
Manassas City Police Department Martinsville Police Department Martinsville Sheriff's Office Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department New River Criminal Justice Training Academy Newport News Police Department Norfolk Airport Police Department Norfolk Police Department Pentagon Force Protection Agency Poquoson Police Department Prince George County Sheriff's Office Prince William County Police Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy Roanoke Police Department Rockbridge County Sheriff's Office Southwest Virginia Community College Stafford Co. Sheriff's Office Staunton Police Department Suffolk Police Department Tazewell Police Department University of Virginia Police Department VCU Police Department Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Wise County Sheriff's Office York/Poquoson Sheriff's Office |
In addition to regional trainings, Attorney General Herring is leading efforts to promote safe, fair, 21st century policing, and to help strengthen the trust and relationships between law enforcement agencies and their communities. His team is also leading a project to develop modern, updated curriculum materials for Virginia's regional law enforcement training academies and he has partnered with Virginia State University and the police departments in Danville and Martinsville for a pilot project to improve recruiting of minority officer candidates. In August he launched "Give It, Get It," a program developed in conjunction with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), to help ensure safe, mutually respectful interactions between Virginia teens and law enforcement.
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