Police Training in De-escalation, Crisis Intervention and Bias/Diversity

What training do police receive in de-escalation? 

All officers receive de-escalation training designed to reduce the need to use force, recognize the sanctity of life, protect officers from harm, reduce injuries to subjects and build community trust.  

All officers receive 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to increase their ability to safely resolve police encounters with people who have mental illnesses, and, when appropriate, link them to mental health support and services that reduce the chances for future interactions with the criminal justice system. Officers work in conjunction with trained dispatchers, CAHOOTS, and mental health providers. 

The EPD Crisis Negotiations Team is a specially trained team available to address crisis calls, such as barricaded subjects, armed suicidal subjects and hostage situations, and high-risk search warrants.  

CNT members attend continuing education courses and train monthly to maintain and improve skills. The team utilizes basic and specialized equipment to aid in communications, which includes a mobile response vehicle to operate from. 

CNT members are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to provide assistance to other units within the department.  

What training do police receive on bias and discrimination? 

• STOPS/Profiling
  In 2006, EPD became the first police agency in Oregon to train its entire police force in the topic of biased based policing using the nationally recognized curriculum known as Perspectives in Profiling. The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) reviewed EPD’s data in 2019 and found EPD was equitable during traffic and pedestrian stops. The CJC  found no evidence that the Eugene Police Department conducts traffic or pedestrian stops, enforcement actions, searches, or arrests in disparate proportions for black or Hispanic populations. Learn more on the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission website.
  
  
• Perspectives in Profiling
  In 2012, EPD began providing all officers with Perspectives in Profiling training and started working on adding a module for gathering data on stops for the new records management system. This system enables EPD to collect demographic data related to police contacts. Perspectives on Profiling recognizes that we need to think differently about the police’s role in society. The training, along with developments in new trainings that emphasize empathy in every contact has been reflected in EPD policies and practices to help improve relations in the community.
  
  
• Implicit Bias Training
  In 2015, the Eugene Police Department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring professional contacts with the public led to a new partnership with the University of Oregon. Professor Erik Grivan from the School of Law provided implicit bias training to all sworn officers and several support staff to include community service officers, crime prevention specialists, and volunteers.