U.S. Department of Justice Holds Two-Day "Fair and Impartial Policing" Training for St. Louis County Law Enforcement

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

COPS Office to Hold Media Availability on Fair and Impartial Policing on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is holding a Fair and Impartial Policing training on Thursday, Nov. 6, and Friday, Nov. 7, with local law enforcement as part of the Collaborative Reform Initiative and technical assistance taking place in St. Louis County.  The two-day Fair and Impartial Policing training will include command-level law enforcement leadership from St. Louis County, St. Louis Metropolitan, Missouri Highway Patrol and Ferguson, Missouri, Police Departments, as well as local community members.  The training is closed press; however, there will be a media availability on Friday at the conclusion of the training session.

This latest effort to build trust and strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve is the first of several regional collaborative reform trainings on law enforcement strategies and best practices.  Under the COPS Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA), the COPS Office provides intensive, comprehensive assessment and support to agencies experiencing significant systemic challenges.  The Fair and Impartial Policing training is specifically designed to enhance officers' understanding of how bias — including implicit or unconscious bias — affects officer behavior, and the impact that biased policing has on officers and the community.  Subsequent training sessions will focus on educating first-line supervisors and police trainers as a way to integrate these concepts into day-to-day police practices.

This training session will be led by Dr. Lorie Fridell, a national expert on racially biased policing, and Noble Wray, a retired Chief of Police from the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department.

WHO: Ronald L. Davis, Director of the COPS Office at the U.S. Department of Justice

Dr. Lorie Fridell, Fair and Impartial Policing technical assistance expert and associate professor at the University of South Florida’s Department of Criminology

Noble Wray, Fair and Impartial Policing technical assistance expert and retired police chief for the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department

WHAT: Media Availability on Fair and Impartial Policing in St. Louis County

WHEN: Friday, November 7, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. CST                       

WHERE: Maryville University-Southwest Campus, Liberty Mutual Building at 12250 Weber Hill Road, Sunset Hills, Missouri 63127

NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials.  For additional questions, please email Kevin.s.lewis@usdoj.gov or call 202-514-2007.

Additional Background on Collaborative Reform: In August, following the shooting of Michael Brown, President Obama asked Attorney General Holder to send Director Davis to work with police officials on the ground in Ferguson to help reduce tensions and build trust.  Under the COPS CRI-TA, the COPS Office provides more intensive, comprehensive assessment and technical assistant support for agencies experiencing significant systemic challenges.  Collaborative Reform is an independent and objective means to organizational transformation through an analysis of policies, practices, training, tactics and accountability methods around key issues facing law enforcement agencies.  Along with Critical Response, Collaborative Reform has become a fundamental part of the department’s overall continuum of services to advance community policing and ensure police agencies engage in constitutional practices.  Currently, the COPS Office is engaged with several law enforcement agencies across the country, including the St. Louis County Police Department, as a way to advance widespread reform across the St. Louis region.