Effective: 2022-01-01

Course Description

The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.

General Course Purpose

ADJ 233 provides a foundation for increasing cultural understanding when serving diverse communities.

Course Objectives

• Multicultural Communities
• Define and recognize/provide examples of vocabulary terms pertaining to multiculturalism.
• Describe the impact of multicultural communities on law enforcement.
• Identify barriers in fostering positive police-community relations with persons from diverse backgrounds.
• Summarize key historical events, practices, and perspectives that impact law enforcement relationships with multicultural communities.
• Evaluate efforts law enforcement leaders and managers have attempted to promote bias-free policing in a multicultural society.
• Explain what it means to provide police services fairly to all community members.
• Recognize unique public safety challenges associated with people's cultural identification, lifestyle, or characteristics.
• Diversity in Law Enforcement Agencies
• Describe how the racial, ethnic, gender, and lifestyle composition of law enforcement agencies is changing in the United States.
• Explain the rationales for hiring, retaining, and promoting a diverse workforce in law enforcement agencies.
• Explain the impacts of prejudice and racism on employees in law enforcement agencies.
• Identify methods for identifying and diffusing prejudicial conduct by employees.
• Evaluate strategies for recruiting, retaining, and promoting women and minorities for law enforcement employment.
• Cross-Cultural Communication for Law Enforcement
• Recognize verbal and nonverbal communication style differences across cultures.
• Describe common communication barriers and the potential for cross-cultural misunderstanding based on communication styles used by different cultural groups.
• Describe how communication can prevent and de-escalate confrontation across cultures.
• Describe appropriate communication for law enforcement employees.
• Law Enforcement Relations with Multicultural Communities
• Describe the backgrounds of different cultural communities, especially as they relate to the dynamics between citizens and police.
• Recognize relevant aspects of demographic features and diversity within cultural groups, including those of class, culture, and religion.
• Identify the myths and stereotypes associated with different cultural groups.
• Explain the impact of key historical events involving different cultural groups and law enforcement.
• Discuss key issues associated with law enforcement contact in different cultural communities.
• Discuss inequities that arise or have arisen in the application of specific law enforcement tactics.
• Law Enforcement Engagement with Special Populations
• Identify special groups with which law enforcement engages, such as victims of specific crimes, criminal organizations, and/or persons with unique needs or interests.
• Recognize major characteristics of special populations, such as victims of specific crimes, criminal organizations, and/or persons with unique needs or interests.
• Examine law enforcement strategies to address needs associated with special populations.
• Describe the potential for misunderstanding based on characteristics or behaviors associated with persons who are homeless or mentally ill.
• Identify ways that police agencies can protect vulnerable community members, particularly those who are mentally ill.
• Hate/Bias Crimes
• Describe the hate crime problem, including historical perspectives, and the nationwide reporting system for hate crime data collection.
• Identify hate crimes related to cultural identification, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, race ethnicity, and national origin.
• Identify extremist hate groups, and the organizations that monitor them.
• Explain hate crime laws, investigative procedures, and offender prosecution.
• Define implicit bias and describe its impacts on community-law enforcement relations.
• Define racial profiling and explain problems associated with using inconsistent definitions.
• Explain the historical use of racial profiling in law enforcement and problems caused by racial profiling.
• Evaluate approaches used by police departments to prevent racial profiling.
• Identify long term solutions to building and sustaining community trust.

Major Topics to be Included

• Multicultural Communities
• Diversity in Law Enforcement Agencies
• Cross-Cultural Communication for Law Enforcement
• Law Enforcement Relations with Multicultural Communities
• Law Enforcement Engagement with Special Populations
• Hate/Bias Crimes
• Racial Profiling and Implicit Bias