Panel Urges a Curriculum on Racial Profiling

Ventura County’s sheriff’s academy--the principal training facility for area police--must develop a detailed curriculum to teach cadets how to avoid incidents of racial profiling, according to a grand jury report released Tuesday.

The panel’s recommendation stems from an inquiry that began more than a year ago following complaints from community groups demanding state and federal investigations of suspected racial profiling in local police departments.

“A mere understanding of cultural diversities is not enough,” the report found. “There must be specific guidelines in writing, and active, ongoing training for all law enforcement personnel as to what constitutes probable cause to detain a citizen.”

The Ventura County Criminal Justice Training Center in Camarillo now offers cadets 24 hours of “cultural diversity and discrimination” lessons as part of a 24-week school, which involves 957 hours of instruction.