NCJ Number
238722
Date Published
2012
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This DVD, intended as a computer-assisted educational tool for individual law enforcement officers, provides officers the knowledge, awareness, perspectives, and skills needed to interact constructively with individuals and groups in the U.S. population with diverse cultural backgrounds and conditioning.
Abstract
The course consists of 11 modules. The first four modules guide the user into information and self-examination that pertains to the "Importance of Cultural Competency," "Culture and Communication," "Race a Social Construct and Privilege," and Stereotypes and Prejudice." The objectives of these modules are to provide facts about the nature of culture (values, behaviors, worldviews, dress, language, religious beliefs, gender perspectives, etc.) and the cultural diversity that exists in the U.S. population. The importance of cultural competency (knowledge about and experience of interacting with persons of a different culture) for police officers is emphasized, since they must interact with people of diverse cultures in performing their responsibilities. The tendency to form negative stereotypes of people of other cultures is also addressed, which then fuels prejudice, conflict, and discrimination. Separate modules instruct police officers in the features of cultures that tend to mold the behaviors, interpretations, beliefs, and outlook of American Indians, Asian-Americans, Arab-Americans, Latino and Hispanic-Americans, and African-Americans. Two modules focus on the characteristics of the various religions practiced by Americans. The concluding module emphasizes the importance of police personnel being recruited from various cultural backgrounds, including those with a minority sexual orientation (gays and lesbians). Each module contains a pretest, learning objectives, PowerPoint slides, video clips, and a posttest. Each module requires approximately 30 to 45 minutes.