SUNY University Police Launch “Train the Trainer” Program on Fair and Impartial Policing
January 20, 2016
Syracuse – State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher and University Police Commissioner Paul Berger today announced that 24 officers from throughout SUNY recently completed a national Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) training program in Syracuse. The officers will begin providing training to their colleagues on-campus and regionally throughout 2016.
SUNY is the largest university system in the country to provide the training at scale. FIP clients span the county and primarily include municipal police departments, including those in Baltimore, Ferguson, Philadelphia, Sanford, and many others.
"Nothing is more important than the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors," said Chancellor Zimpher. "We are proud to bring the Fair and Impartial Policing program to SUNY and to ensure that the officers keeping our campuses safe and secure have access to the newest and most efficient tools, training, and best practices."
The FIP training is specifically designed to enhance officers' understanding of how bias — and especially implicit or unconscious bias — can impact policing. Officers learn techniques to be more aware of bias and ensure that it does not affect their interactions with the public.
"By acknowledging the unconscious bias that is naturally instilled in all of us, police officers are able to assess situations and individuals as they find them and not as they might anticipate them to be," said Commissioner Berger. "This training will help us continue to build trust and strengthen our police force in partnership with campus leadership and local law enforcement agencies."
"This program addresses biased policing and the overwhelming number of well-intentioned police in this country who aspire to fair & impartial policing, but who are human like the rest of us," said Gerald W. Schoenle, Jr., president SUNY Police Chiefs Association. "The initial training was an informative experience for those of us in Syracuse last week. I look forward to working with the SUNY Police Chiefs to train the rest of our 600 officers across New York."
The SUNY training session was led by Lieutenant Colonel JoAnn D. Johnson from the Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation and Anna Laszlo, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Office of Fair and Impartial Policing LLC. For more information about the training program, visit http://www.fairimpartialpolicing.com/.
About the SUNY University Police
SUNY’s University Police provides leadership and support for the police departments on SUNY campuses across New York State. In 1998, the legal status of SUNY officers was changed to "police officer," granting them the same training and law enforcement capabilities as municipal police. All SUNY departments are full partners in various state, regional, and local crime information sharing and investigative task forces. For more information, visit http://www.suny.edu/police/.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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