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Posted: October 15, 2002
By the end of 2002, more than 1,000 Colorado police officers will have completed the Anti-Defamation League's anti-bias training.
Colorado is the only state offering statewide anti-bias training to its officers as part of a longstanding partnership between the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training board (P.O.S.T.) and ADL's Mountain States Regional Office in Denver to increase the number of police officers in the state who receive anti-bias training. The program is being funded as part of a settlement from a 1996 class action lawsuit that alleged Colorado officers were racially profiling motorists.
"There's no question that better trained officers are more effective in their communities. I am pleased that we are able to offer this training to officers in communities throughout the State," said Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, whose office oversees P.O.S.T.
The anti-bias training program is designed to address assumptions, perceptions and bias issues encountered in police work, to provide training on the Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues as they relate to bias in police work, and to increase awareness of how personal and community perceptions of bias may influence police effectiveness. Colorado's program was featured at the 2002 National Sheriffs Committees Conference and at a 2001 National Highway Safety Association conference; the U.S. Department of Justice selected it as a model for training peace officers around the country.
"People want confidence that police officers are enforcing the law in an unbiased manner," said Bruce DeBoskey, ADL Mountain States Regional Director. "This training is an important first step in that direction."
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