FORT WORTH -- Police are seeking the help of people from diverse communities to help develop a curriculum to educate officers about the multicultural groups they serve.
"We recognize the face of Fort Worth is changing, and we should celebrate diversity by providing transcultural leadership," Maj. Paul Henderson said.Detective Tracey Knight is head of the new Multicultural Education and Proficiency Committee. The department is accepting applications representing Latino/Hispanic; African-American; Asian Pacific; Arab and Muslim; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender; homeless; and deaf and hard-of-hearing communities."I realize it's not an exhaustive list but it is a beginning," Knight said.Those chosen will work with officers to develop a curriculum that will be taught, initially, to recruits at the police academy, and later to current officers."They're going to be the ones to tell us what is they want us to know, what it is that we need to know about them," Knight said.Knight said participation in the groups is a long-term commitment.Also, the department will seek their assistance in helping teach the curriculum, sometimes bringing them in as guest speakers or to answer officers' questions or in organizing trips to churches or schools.She said the committee hopes to implement the curriculum a few hours every week over the nine-month academy classes and that it will complement the four-hour multicultural training recruits already receive.The current class "is geared more toward trying to be open, accepting and how to handle calls for services and things of that nature," Knight said. "What we're trying to do is give our officers an education. We're trying to make this a class about the people in our community so we can actually learn from them, not just from a textbook ... but from the people in the community saying, 'Hey, this is what it's like growing up in this city.'"Applications are available at main police sector offices or at the Fort Worth police training academy, 1000 Calvert St., during August.Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655Twitter: @deannaboydHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
