The IACP is pleased to announce the law enforcement agencies that have been selected to be part of the Integrity, Action, and Justice: Strengthening Law Enforcement Response to Domestic and Sexual Violence national demonstration initiative. Through a competitive application process, the following agencies were identified to be part of the initiative:

• City of Shawnee, Oklahoma, Police Department
• Clark County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office
• Denton, Texas, Police Department
• Iowa City, Iowa, Police Department
• Nampa, Idaho, Police Department
• Vancouver, Washington, Police Department

This initiative, in response to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance,  Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement’s Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence will provide dedicated resources, on-going support, and comprehensive training and technical assistance to the selected agencies to build their capacity and raise awareness of the existence and impact of gender bias on responses to domestic and sexual violence. Administrator of Support Services, Chris Thomas of the Shawnee, Oklahoma, Police Department, highlighted that “improving the quality of the response given to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in our community is imperative.”

Throughout the duration of the initiative, the selected agencies, in partnership with the IACP, the DOJ, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), and cadre of subject matter experts, will collaborate to identify aspects of agency culture that may create or sustain biases, develop sustainable strategies to address and eliminate the impact of bias on the response to and investigation of sexual and domestic violence, and implement trauma-informed, victim-centered procedures agency-wide. Domestic violence investigator, Scott Stevens of the Iowa City Police Department, stated that “creating a better response to crimes committed against the LGBTQ+ community and eliminating gender bias will ensure all officers are enabled to recognize microaggressions that come from implicit bias and understand how to address and re-work those issues.” We congratulate these agencies for their dedication and commitment to strengthening their response and investigations of these crimes and look forward to the partnership ahead.

For more resources and additional details regarding available tools and training events to address violence against women, visit the IACP’s Violence Against Women Projects page or contact Tina Dimachkieh, IACP Project Manager, at [email protected].