Diversity Training vs Life Experience
February 5, 2007
I’ve recently finished a two day diversity training course. This covers things like race discrimination, sexual harassment and other such gubbins. It’s a regular occurrence in the police that officers get this sort of input under the pretence of ensuring we’re not bigoted idiots. The reality is that if we’re bigoted idiots and inflict our view on the public then the Chief Constable is vicariously liable for our bigotedness. If the force provides training then clearly they have done as much as they can reasonably be expected to do and well, the officer stands alone in the court box. It’s a slightly cynical view on diversity training but not an unfair one, I tend to agree that if an officer exhibits racist or similar behaviour sufficient to get them summonsed then they shouldn’t expect anyone else to take the fall with them.
In terms of the training given though, I have to wonder on the merits of 12 white British people of similar backgrounds and all of majority groups pushing ideas around about how everyone else we deal with would prefer to be treated.
A week later I’ve been on a night out. In a burlesque night club. The sort with guys dressed as girls, girls who are very girly girls, straight people, gay people and as many different cultures as you can think of. The music was loud and I couldn’t hear a thing and couldn’t make myself heard. The fact is I learnt more about diversity in this three hours than two days with so called diversity ‘experts’. I didn’t discuss anything, I didn’t need to dissect what was happening around me to know that it was how things should be. Everyone from every background just getting on, having a great time and smiling. At each other.
I’ve sent a force suggestion card to the Chief Constable. If he wants to ensure he’s not liable for my and my colleagues turning into racist, sexist homophobes I will happily have my next diversity training session with him on a night out. He can buy the first round.
February 8, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Two days? You lucky thing, we only got 1 day, but it was a total and utter waste of time.
Still we were able to spend a couple of hours designing pretty ‘Blue Peter’-style posters about what ‘diversity’ meant to us. I reckon the tax-payer spent about £100 for me to do that when I factor in my wages and the wages of the 3 people running the course, actually, scrap that, since the ‘trainers’ were from an outside private company you can probably triple it.
Money well spent.
February 17, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I am sure that Chief will want to not take you up on your offer of discussing Diversity with him. Even if you offered it he/she would try and placate you, or just ignore you. If we are going to do raining do it well for God’s sake, do it so it helps colleagues, instead all they want to do is tick a box, that way when things go wrong, they can blame someone else, a PC or PS.
And all the time they keep moving up the slimley ladder that got them there. Do these people really care about Black people? I think not. Do most of us care, I think yes. Who do they care about? Themselves and their Colonial mentality. Who needs the training? SMT’s and Senior Officer’s
February 17, 2007 at 12:08 pm
That’s me. Thanks for the link.