It is the policy of the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy that all information and materials presented in association with training must conform to proper standards of professional ethics.
- Information and materials presented should be free of discriminatory, prejudicial, biased insulting, defamatory, sexual harassment or unethical statements, actions or innuendoes.
- The Academy reserves the right to monitor, review course material and evaluate all instructors and presentations to ensure conformity to professional standards.
As professional trainers of law enforcement officers, members of the Training Unit and all outside instructors must avoid making statements that generalize any segment of the community as innately criminal or inherently associated with crime.
- Crime occurs everywhere. Suspects are composed of every type of individual and personal description. Good law-abiding, productive citizens live in every section of our community. These individuals certainly do not want to be associated with or labeled as criminals.
- Trainers must not foster nor proliferate stereotypes that might create polarization within our department’s personnel toward segments of the community.
- Such statements regarding geographic locations or individuals must be avoided. Trainers should consciously and deliberately cite examples of crime in a way that avoids presenting stereotypical impressions.
- The need to present objective viewpoints during instructional activities should be understood by all that assume the responsibility of an instructor/trainer. Our efforts to always remain objective will serve to reduce the possibility of any accusation of bias against any instructor or the Academy.