The DOJ Is Training Law Enforcement To ‘Build Better Relationships’ With Transgender Communities

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Community Relations Service will host more than ten self-paced online trainings this spring to help U.S. law enforcement officers “build better relationships” with transgender communities, according to the department’s website.

The free three-hour program is designed to “improve [officer’s] awareness and understanding of transgender communities and individuals.” It’s one of two versions of the program offered by the DOJ. The other version, which is the original, is a four-hour in-person or virtual training run by “subject matter experts from law enforcement and transgender communities,” the description states.

In July 2022, the DOJ piloted its first web-based, self-paced training based on the original in-person “Engaging and Building Relationships with Transgender Communities” training program, according to a Community Relations Service news release.

Officers at the upcoming sessions be taught “gender identity terms” and “acceptable language” to use when interacting with transgender people, as well as “issues impacting transgender communities and individuals.”

The training will also teach officers to “identify misconceptions” that impact the prevention of hate crimes, understand “civil rights-related issues” relating to transgender individuals, share “best practices” for improving relationships, and develop a “community engagement plan.”

The DOJ has been hosting local, in-person transgender community training for law enforcement since at least 2016, according to a tweet.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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