Cooperative Agreement 15JCOPS23GK02043PPSE

THE ALLIANCE FOR EXPERIENTIAL PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD (THE ALLIANCE) WILL USE FY23 CPDFUNDING TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY OF AN IMMERSIVE SCENARIO-BASED TOLERANCE, DIVERSITY, AND ANTI-BIAS TRAINING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL. STRENGTHENING POLICE AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS: BUILDING EMPATHY AND REDUCING THE IMPACT OF BIAS THROUGH PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IS A FUSION OF INSTRUCTOR-LED TRAINING AND SCENARIO-BASED TABLETOP EXERCISES INTENDED TO IMPROVE OFFICERS DECISION-MAKING, REDUCE UNFAVORABLE POLICE ENCOUNTERS AMONG UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS, AND STRENGTHEN POLICE AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS. THIS TRAINING WILL REINFORCE OFFICERS EXISTING KNOWLEDGE OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCEPTING AND EMPATHIZING WITH CITIZENS FROM VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS. PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN ABOUT BIAS, HOW OUR EXPERIENCES SHAPE OUR INDIVIDUAL BIASES, AND HOW BIAS CAN INFLUENCE OUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES. PARTICIPATING OFFICERS WILL RECEIVE INSTRUCTION ON PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) AND THEN APPLY THE PBL CYCLE TO MULTIPLE SIMULATION-BASED SCENARIOS TO DEMONSTRATE HOW PBL CAN LIMIT THE IMPACT OF BIAS ON OUR ASSESSMENTS, DECISIONS, AND ACTIONS. THE PBL SCENARIOS ARE TRAUMA-INFORMED, UTILIZING THE NATIONAL CHILD TRAUMATIC STRESS NETWORKS TWELVE CORE CONCEPTS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE TRAUMATIC RESPONSE. IN THEORY, CITIZENS WHO CONTINUE TO INTERACT WITH POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE FAIR, RESPECTFUL, AND EMPATHETIC MAY DEVELOP A NEW SCHEMA ABOUT THE BROADER LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY. WHEN OFFICERS HAVE EMPATHY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, OFFICERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DEMONSTRATE ACCEPTANCE, TOLERANCE, AND FAIR TREATMENT DURING POLICE ENCOUNTERS. ULTIMATELY, THE ALLIANCE ANTICIPATES THAT OFFICERS PARTICIPATING IN THIS TRAINING WILL BE BETTER EQUIPPED TO INTERACT WITH A BROADER SCOPE OF POPULATIONS WITHIN OUR INCREASINGLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.