A-1663wGR/S-1142 (Schaer, Prieto, Sumter, Danielsen, Johnson, Mukherji/Turner) – Requires DLPS to establish and make available to law enforcement agencies cultural diversity training materials and online tutorial.

According to the Princeton Patch: “The law, sponsored by Assembly Budget Chair Gary S. Schaer, Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, among others, will prepare all local and county law enforcement agencies throughout New Jersey to better handle racial, ethnic and religious diversities within their respective communities.

It requires each county and municipal law enforcement department to develop and adopt a cultural diversity training course that includes instruction and exercises designed to focus on the needs of the racial, ethnic and religious communities within each department’s respective jurisdiction, according to the sponsors.

Each municipal and county law enforcement officer will be required to participate in the course as part of in-service training.

“Without an inherent understanding of a particular culture, there can be a tendency towards overgeneralization or labeling. This is how stereotyping is born and also how deeply divisive misunderstandings can occur,” said Schaer, D-Bergen/Passaic.”