Cambridge Police Department Hosts its 10th Trauma-Informed Training

Trauma-informed training explains the widespread impact of trauma and integrates knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices. It was created for law enforcement for several 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, substance abuse disorders and suicide.
• Communities may have suffered or are suffering trauma themselves due to significant events or various injustices.

Participants say it helps increase their compassion and understanding of survivors, as well as highlighting the importance of their own self-care when dealing with trauma.

Our team behind this year’s training and planning is:

• Superintendent Frederick Cabral, CPD Support Services Division
• Deputy Superintendent Steven B. Magalhaes, CPD Family & Social Justice Section
• Lieutenant Anthony Bongiorno, CPD Family Justice Unit
• Lieutenant Steve Donahue, CPD Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit
• Sergeant Ashley Kmiec, CPD Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit
• Sergeant Timothy Lawton, CPD Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit
• Kia Benjamin, Officer Manager in the CPD Commissioner’s Office
• Kara Blue, Trauma-Informed Training Consultant
• Shameka Gregory, Cambridge Domestic & Gender Based Prevention Initiative Coordinator