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Page 6 > May 19,. 1999
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" P r o f ilin g " a n d T r a f f ic S t o p s
Housing Incentive Encourages Police
to Live Where They Work
Police officers have
been conducting
traffic stop
"profiling" that is
based on race,
culture and ethnicity
instead of suspicion
and circumstance.
I
should ap ologize, conference p artici
in g” between police chiefs and m i
pan ts agreed. If the officer says, “ I’m
the country. And while the communjtv
the right d irection ,” Esteve says, ad d
leaders expressed anger over what they
in g “ W hat a sim ple id e a !”
see as double standards in law enforce
In addition to police chiefs prom
ment, the gathering also threw light on
ising to create a national policy on traf
little-noticed efforts to defuse racial ten
fic stops, says P E R F president Frazier,
sions between cops and communities.
m e e tin g p a r t ic ip a n ts a g re e d that
A new training curriculum in Hous
ton is designed to help those who train
law enforcement officers improve depart
mental handling of hate crimes.
Workshops cover how to identify if
there is bias in a crime, how to work with
T h e m eetin g was “ pulled together
P E R F should create a national work
in eight d a y s,” acco rd in g to a spok es
ing group o f chiefs and leaders o f civil
m an fo r the Police E x e c u tiv e R e
rights organ ization s to “ develop de
search Forum (P E R F ), a n ation al or
tailed proposals for new national ini
ture and history of hate crimes, and legal
gan ization o f self-described p ro gre s
tiatives” that ad dress police and com
issues under federal and state statutes.
sive police chiefs an d crim in al ju stice
m unity relationships.
a community if a hate crime occurs, how
to recognize and preserve evidence, the na
C urriculum organ izers hope the
profession als that convened the con
At issue, H urtt, a Phoenix police
Houston pilot program will help in de
ference in the wake o f highly pu b li
c h ie f e x p la in s that it is som eth in g
veloping a model curriculum for other
cized in ciden ts involving alleged po
b roader than specific concerns such
states in training
lice ab u se o f m in orities.
as use o f force or traffic stops.
their officers to
“We are looking at the issue o f com
properly and ef
o m m en ded that o fficers d o in g a traf
munity building. How do we improve
fectiv ely d e al
fic-stop honestly explain at the b egin
the quality o f life? How do we make
w ith
h ate
people feel safe in their neighborhoods?"
c rim e s.
The
O ne solution, Hurtt says, is to hire
train in g is the
one. T h e y sh o u ld not create b o gu s
police officers “who are not looking for
first to be offered
reason s for a stop.
adventure, but looking to serve, officers
in response to a
If the o ffice r fin d s n o re a so n to
who will be accountable to the people.”
n ational initia
d e ta in an in d iv id u a l, th e o f f ic e r
- Carolyn Cosmos
tive is su e d by
m en t” why they are sto p p in g som e
the U .S. A ttor
ney G e n e r a l’s
r u ,u it Aims To Raise Police Sensitivity
to Race and Hate Crimes
O ffice that di
re c ted fe d e ral
p ro se cu to rs in
try are w elcom e to take part in the
all states to insti
facts, m em oirs and other evidence as
T ools for Toleran ce program . In di
tute hate crime
sociated with racial intolerance and
vidual participation by professionals is
programs.
hate is being presented to law enforce
by special arrangem ent.
A no-holds-barred exhibit of arti
many vacant properties, including ones
ownership opportun ities to police of
needing extensive repairs.
ficers, the D epartm ent o f H ousin g and
Officers taking out a m ortgage in
U rban D evelopm ent is helping offic
sured by the Federal Housing Adminis
ers buy h om es in the com m u n ities
tration also need make only a $ 100 down
they serve.
paym ent The program requires officers
ment officers and other crim e profes
T h e museum has just published a
s io n a ls by the S im o n W ie se n th al
book that describes and explains hate
C en ter’s M useum for Tolerance.
Houston also
o ffers
a h ate
crime hotline -
groups across Am erica, their rites, ritu
713/3(»8Z37un-
By presen tin g com puter m odels,
als, allegiances and agendas The book,
der M ayor Lee
actual objects and staged scenes from
“The New Lexicon of Hate: The Chang
Brow n’s in itia
H olocaust death cam ps and other real-
ing Tactics and Sym bols of Am erica’s
tive to com bat
life exam p les o f h ate, the p ro gram
Extrem ists,” can be obtained free by
h ate
gives law enforcem ent profession als a
c a llin g L ie b e G e ft at the S im o n
which was devel
perturbing and practical look at rac
Wiesenthal M useum , 310/553-9036. A
oped in d ep en
ism and prejudice.
C D that highlights how hate groups are
dently from the
Law enforcement officers and other
using the Internet to spread their m es
A tto rn e y
professionals - in groups o f 20 to 100
sage is also available for free by calling
G en eral’s pilot
participants - from all over the coun-
the sam e number.
program.
c rim e s,
to live in the home for at least three years.
homes at half the appraised market value
F or m ore in fo rm a tio n , c o n ta c t
to police officers who agree to live in
H o u sin g C o u n se lin g C le a rin g h o u se
HUDdesignated revitalization areas, usu-
at 800-217-6970.
C ivil War battles and ancient phi
to Hate Crimes
nority activists from communities around so rry ,” this “ w ould b e a h uge step in
n in g o f each en coun ter o r “ en gage
ally urban neighborhoods where there are
The Officer Next Door program sells
t was billed as an “emergency meet
P E R F conference p articipan ts rec
In an effort to stop crim e before it
happens, as well as provide m ore hom e
ship, m anaging differences, cooperation
losophers m ay seem like odd subjects
and collaboration with officials of other
for police training, but som e grou ps
jurisdictions, and ethics and integrity.
o f veteran o fficers are p e ru sin g the
In this untypical study program ,
w orks o f A risto tle an d even takin g
criminal justice courses are purposely ex
trips to the scene o f the G ettysburg
cluded from the curriculum to allow stu
battle in Pennsylvania.
dents to focus on the broader issues. They
T h e investigations are part of an un
usual academic initiative, the Police Ex
ecutive Leadership Program at Jo h n s
Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Considered the only study program
talk about managing differences, not only
about racial diversity.
T h e network of professionals that’s
formed within each class means ideas get
discussed across geographic and depart
o f its kind, the P E L P accepts 24 officers
mental boundaries.
each year who must be recommended by
Editor's Note: Special thank for the
compilation of ideas from the contrib
uting writers of ANS.
their com m anding officers. They learn
theory and discuss the practice of leader-
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