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, 21^st 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 21^st 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:

In addition to regional trainings, Attorney General Herring is leading efforts to promote safe, fair, 21^st 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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