5. Multiculturalism and Human Relations (12 hrs.)

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5. Multiculturalism and Human Relations (12
hrs.)

• TCLEOSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• 07/28/4

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• Unit Goal 5.1.To increase awareness of the role
  of multiculturalism in law enforcement.
• 5.1.1.Discuss key concepts and origins of
  prejudice.
• 5.1.2 Identify forms of prejudice.
• 5.1.3 Discuss personal prejudices.
• 5.1.4. Define key functions of discrimination.
• Unit Goal 5.2. To increase the awareness of
  the importance of human relations in law
  enforcement.
• 5.2.1. Discuss the importance of not allowing
  personal prejudices to affect professional
  behavior.
• 5.2.2. Discuss the value of, respect for, and
  sensitivity to the feelings and needs of others.
• 5.2.3. Discuss the publics perceptions of and
  attitudes toward peace officers.

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Unit Goal 5.1. To increase awareness of the role
of multiculturalism in law enforcement.
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5.1.1. Discuss key concepts of and summarize the
origins of prejudice.
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DEFINITIONS

• Attitude is an organized and relatively
  unchanging combination of person's knowledge and
  feelings about someone or something that
  influences him/her to behave in a certain way in
  regard to that person or thing.

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• Race generally refers to groups of people with
  common ancestry and physical characteristics.
  Since no 'pure' races remain, some prefer to
  avoid reference to race and instead discuss group
  differences under the heading of ethnicity.

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• Ethnicity refers to shared culture and
  background. Members of an ethnic group usually
  have common ancestry and generally share
  language, religion, and other cultural patterns.

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Note to the instructor This would be an
excellent place to bring in information
concerning the ethnic make-up of thesurrounding
community. Ask community leaders to participate
in a panel discussion or seminar. Discuss
localproblems and opportunities. Bring these
ideas back up throughout the instruction in this
unit.
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• Ethnocentrism is the act of regarding one's
  culture as the center of the universe and hence
  as the basis for allcomparisons with other
  cultures.

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• Prejudice is an adverse judgment or opinion
  formed beforehand or without knowledge of or
  examination of the facts bias.

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• Culture - a way of thinking and acting based on
  tradition. Learned behavior passed down from one
  generation toanother.

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• Discrimination - to act on the basis of
  prejudice
• (American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd edition)

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WHO IS PREJUDICED?

• Prejudice is a universal ill. All of us have some
  kind of prejudice. As we learn about other
  cultures and people who are different from us, we
  learn to judge them relative to the norms of our
  own cultural group. The key is to be aware of the
  prejudices, to work at reducing their impact in
  our lives, and to keep our prejudices out of our
  job performance.

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Note to the instructor

• Provide various scenarios depicting different
  situations read this whole unit, first, because
  these scenarios will be used several times to
  reinforce various aspects of prejudice. The
  scenes must give a good variety of situations for
  discussion.
• Ask participants to identify prejudice and to
  discuss solutions and/or variety of approaches.

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THE FUNCTIONS OF PREJUDICE

• Ethnocentrism provides a source of egotistic
  satisfaction, through comparing others with
  oneself.
• Stereotype and Categorical Treatment afford a
  convenient grouping for people of whom one is
  ignorant. Lumping such people together under a
  popular stereotyped description saves time and
  thought and affords a convenient grouping.

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• Scapegoat provides a convenient group or person
  to blame when things go wrong in one's personal
  life or in thecommunity. (scapegoating).
• Projection provides an outlet for projecting
  one's tensions and frustrations onto other
  people.

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• Authoritarian personality symbolizes one's
  affiliation with a more dominant group.
• Societal Strain (Fear and Insecurity) owes
  justification for various types of discrimination
  which are thought to be of advantage to the
  dominant group.

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It is important to be aware of one's biases, so
that one can double check decisions to ensure
accurate and fairdecision-making.
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FOUR BASIC FEELINGS OR ATTITUDES HARBORED BY MOST
PREJUDICED PERSONS
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Feeling of superiority

• Self-assured feeling on the part of certain
  individuals that they are superior or better than
  others which is frequently expressed in
  inappropriate jokes. Disparaging remarks directed
  to those regarded as inferiors, such as, lazy,
  too aggressive, stupid, tricky, deceitful,
  clannish, pushy, and others.

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Others are strange and different

• A feeling that the other group is alien or
  different which promotes the social exclusion of
  members of a particular group and blocks any
  acceptance of a person on individual merit. These
  feelings foster aversion, dislike, or even open
  hostility against persons of a different group.

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Proprietary claims

• A belief that as a member of the group, the
  individual is entitled to exclusive or prior
  rights in a certain area.

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Fear

• Fear is basic to prejudice. It excites the
  emotions to the point of overshadowing rational
  judgment. A belief thatsomeone is trying to
  intrude and threatens the things that belong to
  us.

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Note to the instructor In the same scenarios,
have the students identify these feelings or
attitudes in each scene.
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5.1.2. Identify forms of prejudice.
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FORMS OF PREJUDICE

• Racial
• Ethnic
• Gender
• National origin
• Political affiliation
• Authority figures, e.g., police, government,
  teachers, parents.

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FORMS OF PREJUDICE

• Sexual orientation
• Differently abled
• Religious
• Age
• Economic/occupational
• Weight
• Physically challenged

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Individual personal preferences, e.g. family
feuds antagonism between work departments like
Vice and Patrol.
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In Paris they simply stared at me when I spoke
to them in French. I never did succeed in making
those idiots understand their own
language.Mark Twain
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Note to the instructor In the same scenarios,
have the students label the types/forms of
prejudice being displayed.
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Refer back to the panel discussion and label
local prejudice/discrimination.
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5.1.3. Discuss personal prejudices.
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The foundation of our government is found in the
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence that
"all men are created equal." The democratic
creed includes the value of respect for each
individual. There is a gap between creed and
deed.
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Refer to IRG Personal inventory.
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Note to the instructorDuring discussion of the
personal inventories, use the course content in
this section to highlight important points.
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Other concepts about human relations from the
social scientists
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Every individual is entitled to equal rights and
dignities. They are entitled to them by virtue of
being human.
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The right to be free implies the right to be
different.
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We should try to understand people different from
us.
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All people share certain common needs

• social needs
• health
• employment
• shelter
• food, and
• positive self-image

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Bill of Rights for Americans
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Individuals should be evaluated on their merit.
Because it is easier, we tend to categorize
people and make judgments about them rather than
evaluate them on their individual character. This
leads to stereotyping.
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Democracy cannot work for some unless it works
for all.
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Note to the instructorGo back once more to the
scenarios and have participants apply these
concepts to the solutions and possibilities
ineach scene.
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5.1.4. Define key functions of discrimination.
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FUNCTIONS OF DISCRIMINATION

• Tends to reinforce prejudice concerning the
  group's alleged inferiority.
• Discrimination by any group limits the other
  groups' effectiveness in business, education,
  political office, and so forth.
• Affords an avenue to economic exploitation of the
  group being discriminated against.

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Unit Goal 5.2. To increase the awareness of the
importance of human relations in lawenforcement.
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5.2.1. Discuss the importance of not allowing
personal prejudices to affect his/her
professional behavior.
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The role of the Peace Officer includes

• ENFORCING LAWS IN AN IMPARTIAL MANNER AND
  SUPPORTING THE CONCEPT THAT ALL PERSONS,
  INCLUDING CRIMINAL JUSTICE PERSONNEL, ARE EQUALLY
  SUBJECT TO THE LAW AND WILL BE TREATED EQUALLY BY
  IT.

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Several assumptions about this role underlie the
following discussion and the intent of this
section. An awareness ofthese assumptions (even
though you may not agree entirely with all of
them) is imperative.
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We assume that impartial enforcement of the law
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requires that no person be treated unfairly,
unjustly, or with bias or prejudice. It also
requires that no person be given more favorable
treatment by the law by being given better
service, more considerate treatment, or more
lenient punishment than any other person would
receive for the same reason. The critical
guideline is not favoring one more than another
in the same situation.
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includes the more general ideas of impartial
administration of justice and impartial treatment
of offenders by thecriminal justice system as a
whole. It is by no means limited to the peace
officer who tells the public, "Don't do
that.It's against the law," or, "You must do
this. The law requires it."
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refers to both the interaction of the law and the
citizen and the interaction of citizens when law
enforcement becomes involved. The law must be
impartial whether the law is confronting a
citizen or standing between twocitizens who are
confronting each other.
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is an ideal condition toward which the law, the
criminal justice system, and its personnel
strive. Like democracy, it may never be achieved
in an imperfect world. But it is the direction in
which we must move. No other course of action or
substitute ideal will serve the long-range needs
of a democracy.
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Discuss whether police officers are objective
with all persons.
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The peace officer is an especially sensitive
position regarding impartial enforcement for
several reasons
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S/He often works alone and makes decisions
demanding impartiality on his/her part with no
one (but the citizen)present to witness
fairness.
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The temptations for him/her to be partial placed
before him/her by citizens can be overwhelming.
The acceptance of them can go virtually
undetected by higher authority.
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Deviations from fair and equal treatment can
often be easily excused as being necessary for
maintenance of order,crime prevention, and
public relations.
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The impression held by most people of the
impartiality of the law and the fairness of
criminal justice may well come from the treatment
they have received in their contacts with peace
officers.
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To apply these principles of impartiality, the
peace officer should

• take necessary enforcement action, basing its
  intensity on the nature of the situation and the
  severity of the offense.
• participate in the processes of justice such as
  charging and testifying, in ways which do not
  favor one individual orone group over any others
  on the basis of factors not related to the crime.

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• communicate by word and action to the public and
  to other criminal justice personnel, whenever
  appropriate, thatall personnel of criminal
  justice agencies are equally subject to the law
  and will not be given preferential treatment if
  they become subject to criminal justice
  procedures.

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BENEFITS FROM IMPARTIAL ROLE PERFORMANCE
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The delicate balance, which the law provides and
protects, between those who govern and those who
are governedmust be preserved if democracy is to
survive.And in more recent times, we have seen
what the collapse of impartial law and equal
justice can bring to individuals,groups, and
entire nations.
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Here are Reverend Martin Niemoeller's thoughts

• (German Protestant leader, imprisoned for his
  anti-Hitler views)
• "In Germany, they first came for the Communists
  and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a
  Communist.
• Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up
  because I wasn't a Jew.
• Then they came for the trade unionists and I
  didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade
  unionist.
• Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't
  speak up because I was a Protestant.
• Then they came for me--and by that time no one
  was left to speak up."

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A goal of society and criminal justice is the
reduction of crime. Whether or not punishment and
the certainty of punishment are deterrents to
crime, the law must be impartially enforced if it
is to reduce crime. If leaders of groups who have
frequent contact with the law believe that the
system is impartial and fair it builds respect
and cooperation among them.
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Benefits to the criminal justice system and its
people can be many and varied. For example
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• Impartial enforcement is intellectually and
  emotionally consistent with the basic foundations
  of democraticgovernment and its legal
  expressions and guarantees.

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• Adherence to this principle relieves the
  individual of the problems resulting from showing
  partiality to suspects.

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• The ideal of impartial enforcement can serve as a
  basis for standards of behavior that can provide
  internal agency discipline and control and help
  to avoid the intrusion of personal bias and
  values at all levels of operations includingthe
  administrative.

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• Impartiality is a fundamental requirement made of
  all peace officers. It is not only a moral
  requirement in our treatment of each individual
  with whom we deal, it is critical to the
  continued existence of our democratic form of
  government.

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In a textbook on law enforcement, Justice Edwin
H. Sutherland is quoted as saying, "Liberty and
order are the most precious possessions of man,
and the essence of the problem of government is
reconciliation of the two." The authors of that
textbook see the same problem in law enforcement
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On the one hand, protection of society is the
task of law enforcement on the other,
safeguarding individual personal liberties is
also the task of law enforcement. This can be
done only when laws are enforced impartially.
Those enforcing the laws must leave personal
feelings and prejudices at home when on duty.
Only when law enforcement discharges its function
within the framework of constitutional
guarantees, can a reasonable balance be
maintained between the conflicting interests of
society and the individual.
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A.C. Germann, F.D. Day, and R.V. Gallati,
Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal
Justice. Springfield,Illinois, Charles C.
Thomas, 1971, p. 75.
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5.2.2. Discuss the value of, respect for, and
sensitivity to the feelings and needs of others.
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Important skills that should be used

• gather knowledge and information about the
  person(s)
• be non-judgmental
• tolerate ambiguity in messages, approaches
  different than your own, and differences, in
  general
• show warmth, genuine interest, and empathy.
• be willing to communicate.

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Adverse consequences of insensitivity

• hurt feelings
• anger
• loss of personal and professional respect
• ineffective performances
• behavior

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Positive consequences of sensitivity

• respect of community
• respect from fellow professionals
• support for democratic principles
• self respect

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Note to the instructor

• Role plays will be very important to the
  application of the knowledge from this unit. Vary
  parts and situations until all have had the
  opportunity to use their new awareness of the
  importance of human relations in law
  enforcement.
• Case studies and problem solving activities are
  recommended, also.

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5.2.3. Discuss the public's perceptions and
attitudes toward peace officers.
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Ask students to estimate responses of public
opinion concerning sensitivity, impartiality, and
ethics of peace officers.
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Refer to IRG

• Use Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
  1995.
• Reported Confidence in the Police Table 2.12
• Respondents' ratings of the honesty and ethical
  standards of various occupations Table 2.16
• Respondents' ratings of the honesty and ethical
  standards of police Tables 2.19 and 2.20
• Respondents confidence in ability of police to
  protect, solve crime, and prevent crime Table
  2.21
• Reported confidence in ability of police to
  protect from violent crime Table 2.22
• Attitudes toward a police officer striking an
  adult male citizen Table 2.25.
• Attitudes toward a police officer striking a
  citizen under certain circumstances Table 2.27
• Refer to TCLEOSE Course 3939

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We did not change as we grew older we just
became more clearly ourselves. Lynn Hall, Where
Have All the Tigers Gone?, 1989