The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been taking an innovative approach to addressing hate crimes by combining community policing, education, and media.
The S.H.A.R.E (Stop Hate and Respect Everyone) Tolerance Program is the department’s answer to rising hate crimes in the Los Angeles area. Prior to the program's inception in 2008, the department noticed an uptick in hate crime statistics, while other crime statistics remained stagnant. At the heart of the S.H.A.R.E. Tolerance Program is a custom-built mobile theater that uniformed deputies bring to schools, churches and businesses across Los Angeles County. In the trailer, deputies screen films and host discussions about this important topic.
Heading the S.H.A.R.E. Tolerance Program is Deputy Gregory Chatman, a 33-year law enforcement veteran, who speaks to more than 100,000 people annually. “We go out free of charge to educate our community,” he said. “The objective is to create leadership in the fight against intolerance.”
Education and dialogue are essential to the program, Chatman said, because many are unaware of what constitutes a hate crime, what their rights are, and the role police can play in making their lives safer. In their presentations, they cover all aspects of intolerance, from bullying to hate crimes.
Chatman, a native of Mississippi, believes that we are responsible for one another. Programs like S.H.A.R.E. Tolerance allow law enforcement to be proactive while connecting with their community. “We are human by sharing our personal experience. I like to say all the time, ‘I was not born with this uniform on.’” Further, he said, “We can’t arrest our way out of every issue.”
Add new comment