Sergeant, Austin Police Department
Sergeant, Professional Standards Supervisor, Clark County Sheriffs Office
Law enforcement’s response to LGBTQ+ survivors of gender-based crime can have lifelong effects, either positive or negative. A negative response can have dire consequences for the victim and the community in general. Feelings of distrust and negativity toward law enforcement can reverberate throughout the community and damage that communities’ faith in the criminal justice system. On the other hand, a positive, constructive response can save lives and build trust within the community. LGBTQ+ survivors will be more likely to report when they feel they are treated with a non-biased approach that demonstrates respect, understanding, and dignity.
This session will provide law enforcement and victim service providers with an opportunity to explore information about the LGBTQ+ communities they serve, provide techniques to improve and enhance their response to this diverse community, and examine ways in which developing a respectful engagement with this community can assist agencies in the overall goal of reducing gender bias in policing. Officers will be challenged to open up to new thinking, new insights, and new ways of doing police work, which includes an understanding on how past practices damaged relations with this community. Participants will receive a compendium of tools and resources adopted by various departments and victim advocates from across the country which have encouraged a healthy, strong relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ communities they serve.
Objectives
As a result of this webinar, participants will be better able to:
- Explore the unique issues related to working with LGBTQ+ communities and the ways hate crimes, domestic violence and sexual assault impact the community.
- Identify respectful terminology used to describe sexual orientation and gender identity and learn how to appropriately document interactions with LGBTQ+ identified individuals in reports, affidavits and other system documents.
- Determine best practices for bridging the divide and forging trusting relationships between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community.
- Assess agency opportunities to improve police engagement with the community.
With a paid registration or subscription, you are free to personally listen to this webinar, as many times as you wish. You may also excerpt or cite the material following accepted conventions. However, you may not allow other individuals to listen to this webinar without their own registration or subscription.
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