Columbia Police Department adds annual fair & impartial policing training

Columbia Police Department officers will now receive annual Fair and Impartial Policing Training.

The department announced the decision in a press release issued on Wednesday.

It comes after the department’s Community Outreach Unit held several Fair and Impartial Policing Training courses for CPD officers’ continuing education requirements.

The department also hosted a training session at City Hall on Nov. 5 for Columbia residents. Around 43 citizens attended the training course.

Fair & Impartial Policing Training Part 1 Fair & Impartial Policing Training Part 2 (Warning: contains explicit language)

Police received positive feedback from attendees at Tuesday night’s debriefing session.

“All human beings have implicit bias. Our officers are human beings, so we’re addressing our implicit bias,” said Sgt. Mike Hester with the Columbia Police Department Community Outreach Unit.

The training is based on scientific studies of human bias and helps reveal bias exhibited by people. The course is designed to educate participants about human bias and how to avoid its influence on decisions.

Accreditation Manager and Supervisor of Public Relations Unit Sgt. Bob Dochler said, “Keeping this fact in mind, I can make a conscious effort to prevent or keep biases from creeping into my interactions with the people I serve.”

On Jan. 1, the Missouri Department of Public Safety is mandating changes to the continuing education requirements to maintain a peace officer license.

Police officers previously underwent 48 hours of training every three years. Officers will now have to complete 24 hours of training annually.

Two hours of Fair and Impartial Policing practices that include implicit bias recognition is part of the requirement.

With Wednesday’s announcement, the Columbia Police Department is ahead of the state deadline.