Cambridge Police Department Awarded Grant for Continuation of Trauma-Informed Law Enforcement Training

The Cambridge Police Department today announced it has received a $15,945 grant from the Violence Against Women Act, Services Training Officers Prosecutors (VAWA STOP) Grant Program that will ensure the continuation of trauma-informed law enforcement training in the City of Cambridge. 

The Cambridge Police Department was one of 37 community-based organizations, police departments and state agencies in Massachusetts to be a recipient of the grant program. The Violence Against Women Act, Services Training Officers Prosecutors (VAWA STOP) Grant Program aims to strengthen the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence and sexual assault while enhancing services for survivors.

"Since we initially developed a program in 2015, the trauma-informed law enforcement training has been an important step to better understanding the trauma that survivors of sexual and domestic violence, as well as responding officers, experience and identifying how to best support them," said Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow. "It has brought about many learning opportunities that we hope in the end will improve the experience of survivors who decide to report to public safety and the city’s many service providers. Being able to continue to offer this important training to more officers and community partners is a tremendous win for survivors and the City.”

The City of Cambridge originally developed the trauma-informed law enforcement training program in 2015 and has since refined it to best serve the community and its officers. Overall, approximately 240 department personnel and community partners have participated in the training. The genesis for the training was based on a series of reasons:

• Police are frequently responding to individuals who are experiencing trauma due to domestic violence, sexual assault, street violence and other serious incidents.
• Police are often in situations where they may experience trauma, which can lead to high rates of depression, post-traumatic stress, alcohol use disorders and suicide.
• Communities may have suffered or are suffering trauma, themselves, due to significant events or various injustices.

Participants in the trainings have acknowledged that it has allowed them to increase their compassion and understanding for survivors, as well as recognize the importance of self-care. Others also acknowledged that learning about the neurobiology of trauma was among the most useful information they’ve acquired in trainings and understanding how the brain responds helped them to better understand survivors with whom they had worked in the past and led them to recognize false assumptions they previously may have made.

In 2020, the City of Cambridge published a manual that was intended to provide guidance and help police departments and municipalities all over the country design and implement a trauma-informed training and education program. To download the “Guide for a Trauma-Informed Law Enforcement Initiative” manual, please visit http://camb.ma/TraumaGuide.

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