FIUPD undergoes diversity training to better serve LGBTQA community

Written by: MaryBeth Loretta/ Contributing Writer

In a political climate where LGBTQA rights have been in the spotlight, the FIU Police Department has paid attention.

Alexander Casas, Chief of the FIU Police Department, said that recent attention to LGBTQA issues is the primary reason for its recent training on how to approach and better communicate with the FIU community, which began two years ago.

“We need to try to understand this group a little better. Law enforcement is very good with communicating with each other around the country,” said Casas. “We recognize issues that other communities have had on a greater scale. So once we see an issue elsewhere, we try to get ahead of the problem and train the issue.”

The most talked about letter of the ever-growing acronym was the “T,” standing for transgender.

“We’re always looking for ways to better serve our community and the way that community needs to be served. A big way is to communicate with them and have empathy with them. The better we understand our community and its multiple niches we have, the better we can provide our service,” said Casas. “Services can mean anything from ‘I lost my ipad’ or ‘contemplating killing myself.’ The better we understand we can connect with them, the better we can resolve their issue.”

According to Chief Casas, there have been several incidents on the Modesto Maidique Campus in which transgender students were contemplating suicide.

Although the officers had every intention to help the students, the officers were confused as to how to approach them. The training however, has improved these situations.

“With this training, my officers tell me they feel more comfortable than they did before. For example, if I encounter a situation and call them ‘ma’am’ and then they say ‘sir, I’ll apologize and call them ‘sir’. I don’t get stuck and say what do you mean. I understand. There’s a lot more that goes into why they want me to refer or identify them,” said Casas.

He added that the training started two years ago consisting of eight hours per officer, focusing on communication skills.

“It was hard to get training. Our training has consisted of different things like human diversity and communication skills,” said Casas. “We’ve struggled in trying to find a training program that fits with our niche but … we’re still trying to get better at what we do.” Casas believes the FIUPD has made strides in understanding this community,  but he admits having failed to find a more comprehensive curriculum to better help understand LGBTQA history and culture.

“My failure as the lead of the agency is I haven’t been able to find a big enough training curriculum where I feel comfortable saying we’re in really good shape now. Our empathy is a lot better … the way we understand things a little better, and we’re more patient when we communicate,” said Casas. “I think we get less frustrated when someone wants to switch on us, it’s normal. I would like to get a little more formalized training in why someone wants to be identified a certain way.”

He explained that such a curriculum has been found but is cost-preventative.

Casas also stressed the distinction between empathy and tolerance. Tolerance of a certain community, he opined, sounds “condescending.” He strives to have empathy, which he believes can be achieved through a curriculum that stresses the history and culture.

“I think we’re in a good place because we’ve made improvements and we’ve equipped our officers to better understand to talk to people and their comfort level has increased,” said Casas. “We’re in good shape but I want to get more formalized training on this.”

Joann Brown, communication professor and the co-facilitator of The Cultural Diversity and De-escalating Trainings at the University, says training is essential in maintaining trust between officers and civilians.

“If members of the community feel that their own concerns are not understood, their confidence in law enforcement personnel to meet these needs may be severely diminished,” said Brown.

Since the fall of 2015, about 500 law enforcement officials of various ranks have participated in this training. Although they have not created a training specifying in the LGBTQ community, she did explain how they have trained many law enforcement officers in understanding their own personal biases.

“It begins with a computer assessment specifically designed to identify internal cultural biases of the individual officers. Discovering implicit personal biases and preferences leads to increased self-awareness and insight into personal behavior,” said Brown. “This is paramount as law enforcement officers need to understand, respect, and be open to communicate with all segments of the population if they are to be successful in their role.”

 

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