How Bias Training Works in One Campus Police Department

After East Carolina University fired a police officer in April for his role in the handcuffing of a black man who had been the victim of a group beating, the campus police department announced a series of actions it would take to improve its policies. Among them: more training for officers on how to be fair and impartial.

The adoption of anti-bias training is not unusual among campus police forces across the country, especially as colleges grapple with how to respond to allegations of institutional racism. And campus police departments can face challenges apart from those encountered by municipal forces, often serving in diverse and young communities, which can make officers’ understanding of implicit bias critical to doing their jobs fairly.

“In higher ed, we should be leading the move to respectful and sensitive policing,” said Steven J. Healy, co-founder of the firm Margolis Healy, which consults with campuses on public safety and security. “This is where all law-enforcement agencies need to go.”

Over the past year, higher education has seen how perceived unfair treatment at the hands of campus police officers can lead to protests. That climate makes training on bias more important than ever before, Mr. Healy said.

“Students are coming from environments where they speak up when they feel like they’re not being treated appropriately,” said Mr. Healy. “Our students today are going to complain — they aren’t just going to quietly walk away, nor should they — if they feel they’ve been mistreated.”

At East Carolina, the campus police chief, Gerald Lewis Jr., would not say exactly what form the additional training will take. But a potential model could be found in East Lansing, Mich., where the Michigan State Police Department has adopted implicit-bias workshops to move toward more-sensitive policing.

The mandatory workshops focus on improving officers’ understanding of their own implicit and explicit biases that could be detrimental when they interact with students or others, said Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor, leader of the Michigan State Inclusion and Anti-Bias Unit. The university created the unit in December to combat any community-related issues associated with bias and to spearhead the trainings.

“It’s a difficult subject to talk about and address,” Sergeant McGlothian-Taylor said. “Sometimes they feel a little defensive. They feel like it’s going to be class bashing cops. But that’s the whole point — to talk about it and get it out in the open.”

The workshops’ instructors, Paulette Granberry Russell, director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, and NiCole T. Buchanan, an associate professor of psychology at the university, structured their program around lectures to explain what the biases are, discussions for officers to see how biases affect them, and thought exercises so everyone can better grasp why understanding bias matters for officers’ work.

“Once you’re in a position of power, you’re obligated to address bias,” Ms. Buchanan said. “People are less willing to challenge you, maybe more afraid, less willing to say you’re incorrect or acting on negative assumptions. That can lead to contempt or fear of police.”

Over all, she said, “you’re able to create a better policing environment when there is a strong message against bias and microaggression.”

The trainings are open to the public, which gives the community a chance to learn about their own implicit biases, Sergeant McGlothian-Taylor said, and gives officers a chance to hear about how they are perceived.

Chris Rozman, a police officer at Michigan State, said he believed the classes also benefited members of the public who attended, as they got a chance to learn about how implicit biases can affect the police as well. “One of our officers stopped a vehicle, and before she could even walk up, introduce herself, and say, ‘I stopped you for this reason,’ the person was berating her and saying, ‘You only stopped me because I’m black,’” said Mr. Rozman. “When this officer was telling the stories, she was practically on the verge of tears. She was truly, truly affected by this incident. I got to observe members of the community have that ‘aha’ moment listening to this.”

How effective the workshops are is difficult to measure because there aren’t immediate results or benchmarks to prove the class is working, Ms. Buchanan said. The real effects will be apparent only over time.

But, Ms. Buchanan said, regardless of tangible results, the training is a necessity for Michigan State’s police. “This is what Michigan State has to do to remain a police force that the community is proud of.”

Update (5/17/2016, 2:12 p.m.): A previous version of this article included a PowerPoint presentation from the classes. It has been removed at its author’s request.