All full-time IUPD officers at all IU campuses are now required to take a bystander training course called Active Bystandership Law Enforcement.
The program started in February and aims to prevent misconduct and promote health and wellness among the officers to better serve the IU communities, according to an IU News press release. ABLE training is focused on preparing officers to handle themselves and others in peer intervention situations to prevent harm.
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IU is the first higher education institution in Indiana to require the training, according to the press release.
The training is now included in the IU Police Academy’s basic law enforcement curriculum with the goal of having all full-time officers trained by August 2023. IUPD Public Information Officer Hannah Skibba and IU Southeast Officer Claudia Darrow are leading the training, according to the press release.
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The training includes the officers looking at case studies and identifying moments where peer intervention among officers should have occurred and exercises like self-reflection and small group discussions, according to the press release.
IUPD’s Lt. Kimberly Minor and Sgt. Niko Natali are instructors of ABLE training courses and IUPD plans to add more instructors, according to the press release.
