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You can contact the CAHC via. Dr. Randy Blazak at Portland State University (cfrb@pdx.edu)
Chief Mark Kroeker Portland Police Bureau 1111 SW Second, Suite 1526 Portland, OR 97204 Dear Chief Kroeker, The Coalition Against Hate Crimes (CAHC) has been an active network of community participants since October 1997. Its members are representatives from a wide variety of community and government organizations, including the Portland Police Department. The Coalition and its members support non-violent solutions to the problem of hate and hate crimes in Oregon. Our mission is to use the moral authority of the Coalition and its members to give expression to the community conscience as spelled out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its covenants. At issue of the May 5th shooting of Kendra James are the increased police-community tensions, especially among ethnic minorities in Portland. While the Grand Jury decision resolved the issue for some, there is an ongoing problem of the perception of bias by Portland Police. The CAHC discussed this incident and other noted cases on May 22nd and felt that there is something else that could be done to prevent another tragic incident. We are also interested in improving the relationship between Portland Police and various minority communities. This is in the interest of the CAHC and the community for two reasons; 1) the citizens of Portland must feel that our police department works on our behalf and does not make life and death decisions based on bigotry or bias. 2) A citizenry that feels confident that the police are not reflecting bias and bigotry are more likely to report hate crimes (and crime in general) to the police as well as cooperate with police on criminal investigations. The concern of CAHC is that officers in the Portland Police Department have not been exposed to enough cross-cultural conflict management training. Police can be more effective when working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender communities, African-American and Hispanic communities, Arab and Muslim communities and others if they are properly trained in cultural differences. Additionally, officers should be aware of the history of police-community relations so they can navigate potentially explosive situations. Therefore, the CAHC would like to formally request a copy of the Portland Police Department's training policy and curriculum as it relates to cross-cultural and diversity matters. The broad membership of the CAHC includes police and governmental agencies as well as religious, ethnic and civil-rights groups. We would like to review the material and make recommendations in areas that could better help Portland Police perform their role to protect all citizens. The CAHC can also connect PPD to resources already in existence for training and improved communication with members of the community. Sincerely, Dr. Randy Blazak Chair, Coalition Against Hate Crimes
c/o Dr. Randy Blazak, Portland State University Website Design © 2002 by T.L. Kelly
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The Coalition Against Hate Crimes (CAHC) was started by the