UMaine PD hosts awareness training for area law enforcement agencies
Approximately 30 area law enforcement officers were on campus Aug. 12 for a daylong training program hosted by the University of Maine Police Department. The program that focused on cultural awareness and professionalism for police officers was led by Francis Amoroso, the New England regional director with the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service (CRS). CRS offers training programs to help state, local, and tribal governments and communities address racial and ethnic conflict, and prevent and respond to violent hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or disability, according to the Justice Department website. Amoroso has offered this training for central Maine area law enforcement agencies in the past, and according to UMaine Police Chief Roland Lacroix, this and other awareness programming is an important part of the department’s responsibility to the safety of members of the UMaine community — one of Maine’s most diverse communities.