First responders like police, fire rescue and EMS are the front lines for hate crimes, but they also experience adversity within their folds.
Experts from the field have recently pulled together some thought leadership on how to handle the haters within departments and communities. These resources can help communities address the roots of hate and work to prevent incidents of hate crimes, bullying and harassment that can propel hate-based violence.
Increase community engagement
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which works with communities on anti-Semitic and other hate crimes, building strong relationships with community groups is an essential community response that actually needs to happen before hate crimes take place.
Along with being an active part of community diversity efforts, first responder agencies and law enforcement departments can recognize diversity within their ranks and share that with the larger community.
Last night the Fire Department of New York held the first ever FDNY Pride Month celebration at the New York City Fire Museum in order to honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and civilians in the department.
Last year FDNY produced a documentary supporting LGBTQ with members of the department that also belong to the LGBTQ community as part of the It Gets Better Project. The worldwide project engages LGBTQ youth to provide critical support.
Address bullying, harassment and misogyny within first responder and law enforcement agencies
After Fairfax County, Va., EMS Nicole Mittendorff died by suicide, and news that bullying by the Fairfax County Fire Department was being investigated, many EMS workers came forward on EMS1.com to share their stories of harassment and ridicule.
EMS1.com Columnist Linda Willing, a former firefighter and now consultant and trainer for fire rescue and EMS, then developed a list of concrete actions that can help firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers eliminate bullying or harrassing behaviors from within their departments.
In addition, FireRescue1.com Editor Rick Markley, a volunteer firefighter and fire investigator, discussed how the firefighter community might address the misogyny that exists in some departments.
Increase staff diversity
Recruiting both gender and culturally diverse staff can help first responder and law enforcement agencies improve their departments and interactions with various community groups. EMS and Firerecruit.com author Candice McDonald wrote about taking a deliberate approach to recruiting underrepresented segments of the population to boost performance.
The city of Minneapolis, Minn., is actively recruiting diverse EMS staff through a paid training program in order to reduce barriers. Other cities, such as St. Paul, Minn., have had similar programs.
Back in 2007, retired Indianapolis, Ind., fire chief Debra Jarvis wrote about key steps to increase diversity recruitment for FireRescue1.com.
Get officers and staff trained and prepared
The ADL and many others stress the importance of training law enforcement officers and others to prepare for, recognize and manage hate crimes of all kinds.
But when hate gets totally out of control, such as with mass shootings, EMS leaders and field personnel that find themselves on the front lines may not always be prepared. EMS1.com Editor-in-Chief Greg Friese, MS, NRP, developed top takeaways to help departments review and reconsider their preparedness to respond to active shooters.
