UNBIASED POLICING POLICY

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UNBIASED POLICING POLICY

I.                PURPOSE

The purpose of this policyis to emphasize the Lexington Police Department’s commitment to unbiased,equitable treatment of all persons.

II.              POLICY

Persons having contactwith members of this agency shall be treated in a fair, impartial, equitable,and objective manner, in accordance with law, and without consideration oftheir individual demographics as defined in this policy.

III.            DEFINITIONS

Biased Policing: Discrimination in the performance of law enforcementduties or delivery of police services, based on personal prejudices orpartiality of officers toward classes of individuals or persons based onindividual demographics.

Fair and Impartial Treatment: the belief that persons, irrespectiveof race or other distinctions, shall be treated in the same basic manner underthe same or similar circumstances. This does not mean that all persons in thesame or similar circumstances can or must be treated identically. Reasonableconcessions and accommodations may be, and sometimes should be made, whendealing with individuals with physical or mental disabilities, injury, illness,or similar conditions, or when information about them necessitates treatment.

Individual Demographics: For the purposes of this policy,personal characteristics, include, but are not limited to race, ethnicbackground, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation,religion, socioeconomic status, age, disability, cultural group, or politicalstatus.

Police Services: Sometimes referred to as community caretaking functions,there are actions and activities that may not directly include enforcement ofthe law but that contribute to the overall well-being and safety of the public.These include, but are not limited to, such tasks as assistance at fire scenes,traffic accidents, and medical emergencies; lifesaving services, crimeprevention; preventive patrol; traffic control; public information; education;and similar activities.

IV.            PROCEDURES

A.    Fair and Impartial Treatment

1.    Biasedpolicing is prohibited both in enforcement of the law and the delivery ofpublic services.

2.    Officersshall take equivalent enforcement actions and provide equal services to allpersons in the same or similar circumstances.

3.    Officersshall not consider individuals demographics when performing law enforcementduties or delivering police services except when such characteristics are partof a specific subject description.

4.    Unlessexigent circumstances exist, officers shall not engage in a law enforcementmatter when it involves a family member, friend, relative, or other person withwhom he or she has a personal relationship, such that the officer’s objectivitymay be, or may appear to be, compromised. In situations where the officer ispersonally involved, he or she will summon other officers for assistance.

B.    Compliance

1.    Officerswho witness or who are aware of instances of biased policing shall report theincident to either the Chief of Police or his or her designee or, if the Chiefof Police is the subject of such biased policing or involved therewith, then tothe Board of Aldermen. Also, where appropriate, officers are encouraged tointervene at the time the biased policing incident occurs.

2.    Dependingon the nature and seriousness of the incident, the Chief of Police may providethe involved officer(s) with informal, non-punitive intervention such astraining and counseling.

3.    Allexternal complaints and internal complaints that cannot be resolved effectivelyand appropriately by the Chief of Police or his or her designee- or that aredetermined to be potentially serious in nature- shall be forwarded to the Boardof Aldermen for investigation. If the Chief of Police or his or her designee isthe subject of such external or internal complaints, then the complaint shallbe forwarded to the Board of Aldermen for investigation.

4.    TheChief of Police or his or her designee shall maintain data relatingspecifically to complaints of biased policing. Information shall be provided tothe Chief of Police or his or her designee in a manner most suitable foradministrative review, problem identification, and development of appropriatecorrective actions.

C.    Training

All employees of the Lexington Police Departmentwill receive basic training within their first month of employment as well asperiodic in-service training afterwards and, where deemed necessary, remedialtraining on subjects related to police ethics, cultural diversity,police-citizen interaction, standards of conduct, conducting motor vehiclestops, implicit bias, and related topics suitable for preventing incidents ofbiased policing.

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