Race & Equity Training & Work Plan

Training

In 2017, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a law requiring all peace officers to receive training in the following areas:

  • Crisis intervention and mental illness crises
  • Conflict management and mediation
  • Recognizing and valuing community diversity to include implicit bias training

Every three years, officers must receive at least 16 hours of POST Board-approved continuing education credits in these areas. For Edina Police Officers, at least six of the hours are used for implicit bias training.

In Edina, we take the minimum State requirements much further and started requiring training three years before it was part of the law. In 2014, we started requiring that each of our 56 officers take an intense 40-hour Minnesota Crisis Intervention Training course held by the Minnesota Crisis Intervention Team. Officers also attend required race and equity trainings held for City staff as a part of the Racial Equity Implementation Plan.

Edina Police Officers also complete an annual eight hours of in-service training that covers a different topic each year. Previous in-service trainings have included presentations about domestic violence, sexual assault and cultural diversity.  

In addition, Edina Police Officers take part in online and in-person quarterly trainings. Every Officer trains for at least five hours each quarter. Trainings cover implicit and explicit bias, use of force, mental health, de-escalation techniques and more. The majority of these training hours are in addition to the POST Board-required training officers throughout the state must complete.

Currently, 22 Officers serve as Field Training Officers (FTO). FTOs ensure that new police officers are above proficient on all levels. The team of FTOs are selected because of their Department knowledge, quality of service to the public and overall experience.

The Racial Equity Implementation Plan

The Racial Equity Implementation Plan has guided the Police Department in some other ways toward equity in our department and community. As of the end of 2019, Police staff:

  • Removed all names from the Weekly Crime Report. The report now contains age, gender and location of report.
  • Studied and reviewed the 21st Century Policing Initiative and how it aligns with the City’s Police Officer field training processes. The findings have been submitted it to the City Manager for final review.
  • Reviewed the Department Policy Manual through a race and equity lens related to use of force. The Manual is currently being reviewed by the City’s Race & Equity Coordinator.

We continue working to:

  • Better collect race-related data.
  • Build relationships with the Somalian community in Edina.
  • Remove non-public information from the Police Department Policy Manual, before uploading it on the City’s website at EdinaMN.gov/Police.
  • Review other agencies’ impartial policing processes to ensure the Edina Police Department’s Policy 690.00 of Impartial Policing is as equitable as it can be.
  • Evaluate community outreach programs and determine which are most effective.
  • Analyze and update policies related to external and independent criminal investigations and prosecutions for officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths.
  • Implement body-worn cameras. This initiative is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2020.

Learn more about the City’s Racial Equity Implementation plan online or by contacting Race & Equity Coordinator Heidi Lee . For more information on the Police Department’s components of the plan, contact Lee.