SUNY-ESF officer participates in training program to remove policing bias

A police officer from SUNY-ESF recently completed a training program used in Ferguson, Missouri, designed to prevent officers from exhibiting bias.

Lt. Robert Dugan, an officer of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry University Police Department, participated in the Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) training program. The training program took place in Syracuse and involved 24 officers from throughout the SUNY system, according to the release.

FIP training provides officers with tools to help them recognize their conscious and implicit biases and implement controlled, unbiased behavioral responses, said Paul Berger, the SUNY University Police Commissioner who brought the program to the SUNY system.

The program is done through lecture and interactive exercises, Dugan said in an email.

“The FIP training helps police officers understand that even well-intentioned people have biases,” Dugan said. “It helps us understand how implicit biases impact what we perceive and the impact that can have on what we do in our jobs.”

The FIP training program was introduced to Berger in 2014 while he was attending a policing conference, he said. There, he said he recognized the value it could have for SUNY police, as they work in an environment that entails a lot of contact with community members.

“Over the past few years, law enforcement as a profession has found an unusual level of scrutiny,” Berger said. “I have been a firm believer in community policing and want to make sure SUNY maintains its focus on community policing to provide the best possible service.”

The FIP program is new for SUNY police. It was made available to the entire SUNY system because Berger said he wanted to make sure every officer had access to the program.

The SUNY training session was completed in mid-January and lasted three days. Training took place at the Genesee Grande Hotel on East Genesee Street, Berger said.

The program was lead by Lt. Col. JoAnn Johnson from the Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation and Anna Laszlo, managing partner and chief operating officer of Fair and Impartial Policing LLC, according to the release.

The SUNY FIP session was to “train-the-trainer,” where officers learn to implement the recruit, patrol, supervisor and command level curriculums in their own agencies, Berger said.

“The pool of officers consisted of various ranks, but there was not a representative for each SUNY campus,” Berger said. “We knew we would have to work together regionally to deliver the program to all campuses.”

Officers who received the training gained experience reciprocating the material during the program, so they will be prepared to train the 600 officers throughout the SUNY system, Berger said. He hopes to have all officers trained in FIP before the end of the calendar year.

“After the training, officers understand that fair and impartial policing leads to effective policing,” Dugan said.

FIP has served not only the SUNY system, but also clients in Baltimore; Philadelphia; and Sanford, Florida, according to the release.