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NIU, DeKalb Police join forces for diversity training

March 4, 2015

NIU PD Unity WalkThe NIU Department of Police and Public Safety will be joining forces with the City of DeKalb Police Department for cultural diversity training in law enforcement on March 12-13.

The course will train law enforcement officers in the areas of cultural diversity and tolerance, including the following areas of emphasis:

  • Cross-cultural communication skills for law enforcement;
  • Identifying values that represent a tolerant life outlook;
  • Examining personal perceptions of diverse populations;
  • Understanding personal value systems and how they relate to diversity;
  • Recognition of the role of teamwork in effective law enforcement; and
  • The role of diversity in profiling criminal suspects.

An NIU police officer speaks with students next to an emergency call box.Following the training, officers will have a greater knowledge of specific customs and habits of different ethnic groups and will be able to identify roadblocks to tolerance, understand police culture and its effects on tolerance, recognize opportunities to increase dialogue between groups, enhance relationships between them and understand the impact of intolerance on an organization. Law enforcement personnel will also receive training about how to develop an individualized stress reduction program.

Gail Sullivan, an approved Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board instructor, will administer the course. She has worked in the field of social services in various capacities for more than two decades.