Horizon to Horizon: The Journey of a Racial Bias Assessment

Monday, October 21, 2024

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET

Location: 206AB

Submitter and Speaker(s)

Terry Cherry, MBA

Senior Police Officer, NIJ LEADS Scholar
Charleston (SC) Police Department
Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Speaker(s)

Jill Eidson, PH.D

Director of Procedural Justice and Research
City of Charleston (SC) Police Department
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Anthony Gibson, MPA

Sergeant, NIJ LEADS Scholar
City of Charleston (SC) Police Department
Charleston, South Carolina, United States

This presentation will guide the audience through a multiyear, voluntary racial bias audit of a midsize municipal police department in the southeastern United States. It will review the findings and outline the department's response, including the improvement of its data collection processes and systems and the transformation of the organizational culture to adopt and endorse evidence-based approaches. Insights gained from the process, and the significance of managing effective communication strategies will be highlighted. The department's navigation of this assessment and the lessons learned can be translated into actionable takeaways that are relevant, as departments are facing similar evaluations across the United States.