A federal grant awarded to the Illinois State University Police Department is intended to improve conditions for marginalized groups on campus, including those in the LGBTQ+ community and international students.
Police Chief Aaron Woodruff said the $22,000 grant will create new training, accreditation and engagement opportunities to enrich the student experience and enhance safety for the broader Bloomington-Normal community.
“This is through an organization called Out To Protect [Inc.] that specializes in training law enforcement to be liaisons with the LBGTQ+ community, but also has an accreditation program to make sure your department is following the best practices,” Woodruff said.
“This is just a unique opportunity which was focused on finding ways for law enforcement to work with communities — particularly those [that] are marginalized.”
Woodruff said the accreditation program also will include training to support international students as well.
“We’re drawing a lot of international individuals to this community with their own unique perspectives of law enforcement, particularly coming from whatever countries they’re coming from,” said Woodruff, adding the department is looking to host a film series or other type of community outreach for those who "maybe have a different perspective of policing based on their home country."
Speaking on recent incidents on ISU’s campus, including a reported hate crime in August, Woodruff said prevention of these sorts of incidents is a community effort.
“We need to educate our broader community on what a hate crime is and showing that we have no place for that here in our community, [especially] how it’s making [those outside our community] see us," Woodruff said.
ISU Police announced last week it had closed the investigation into the alleged hate crime, saying the department could not locate any suspects.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., announced the grant that came through the Community Policing Development program. It's funded by the Community Oriented Policing Services [(COPS] Office that provides financial support to local and state law enforcement agencies.
“We need to make sure Illinois State University police have the tools to keep every student and neighbor safe,” said Sorensen, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal. “That means providing them with the resources to engage with the many diverse communities that exist on campus and across Bloomington and Normal.”
Bloomington-Normal’s Prairie Pride Coalition, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to equality for the LGBTQ+ community members, co- wrote the letter in collaboration with Sorensen.
“It was a unique opportunity, and we were really surprised that we received it,” said Woodruff.
