Revised Sexual Harassment Policy for the Police Department Essay

Revised Sexual Harassment Policy for the Police Department

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines and procedures for this Police Department regarding prevention of sexual harassment and processes for filing a complaint and investigations regarding alleged sexual harassment.

Policy

This Police Department seeks to create a safe, suitable, and comfortable working environment for all its employees. The Department has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and prohibits any form of sexual harassment among its workers. Based on the zero-tolerance policy, violation of the policy would result in disciplinary actions including prosecution and termination from employment. Employees are free to make complaints of any sexual harassment incidents without fear of victimization while their confidentiality will be maintained as much as possible. The Department shall not retaliate against its employees for filing such complaints or for cooperation during investigations of sexual harassment complaints.

Guidelines and Considerations

The Police Department defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexual advances, sexual favor requests or unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. Based on recent guidelines handed down by Supreme Court decisions, the two types of sexual harassment governed by this policy are quid pro quo and hostile work environment (Bachman, 2017). Quid pro quo harassment occurs when the perpetrator uses such actions as the premise for employment decisions. On the other hand, hostile work environment occurs when the sexual harassment incident is geared towards interfering with the victim’s work performance or creating a difficult work environment for him/her.

Making and Investigating Complaints

In light of recent guidelines handed down by Supreme Court decisions, quid pro quo and hostile work environment will not be treated as wholly distinct claims by this Department. The Department has established administrative guidelines and remedies for dealing with sexual harassment. When making a complaint, the victimized employee should contact his/her department head if he/she has been the subject of sexual harassment. If the complaint concerns the department head, the employee should file his complaint to any other department head. Once the complaint is received, the department head should undertake necessary and suitable steps to investigate it. If the complaint is not addressed in a satisfactory manner, the employee should contact the Director of Administration and Management. However, if this Police Department does not address the complaint in a satisfactory manner after all administrative procedures are exhausted, the employee if free to file his/her complaint directly to the State’s Attorney.

With regards to investigations, any department head or supervisor is required to notify the Director of Administration and Management upon receipt of a sexual harassment complaint. The Director of Administration and Management will then conduct or assign someone the responsibility to investigate the complaint. Upon conclusion of investigations, the perpetrator will be subject to sanctions that include but not limited to prosecution in a court of law and termination from employment.

Training Program for Employees

An important aspect towards implementing the revised sexual harassment policy is to implement a training program for all employees. The training program will be conducted by experts or experienced trainers with competency in prevention of sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination. During the training, the expert or trainers will provide employees with practical explanations of laws relating to sexual harassment, its prevention, and consequences. They will then communicate to all employees regarding the directives in the Department’s sexual harassment policy. The employees’ supervisors and those in management positions will be trained on their role in preventing sexual harassment and investigating complaints. All employees will be provided with a copy of the revised sexual harassment policy.

While establishing sexual harassment policy and conducting training is a crucial step towards preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, there are challenges relating to this process. One of these challenges is the need to be aware of the various sexual harassment laws and update the policy based on changes in the law (O’Gara & Jill, n.d.). Secondly, the policy-making process and training implementation is time-consuming because of numerous complexities. Third, the process is expensive because of the need to involve several stakeholders such as legal experts and experienced trainers.

Comparison of Two Sexual Harassment Policies

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Orlando Police Department have some similarities and differences with regards to their policies on sexual harassment. One of the similarities between these two established sexual harassment policies is their definition of sexual harassment. They both define sexual harassment as unwelcome advances, sexual favors’ requests, and other conduct based on a sexual nature (McCoy, 2004; Swearingen, n.d.). Secondly, both policies are strict with regards to prevention of sexual harassment by police officers when conducting their duties. These policies are based on a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, which is crucial for prevention of sexual harassment.

However, there are some differences in these policies through they both seek to prevent sexual harassment. First, sexual harassment policy by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is included as part of the ethical standards of conduct by law enforcement officers while the Orlando Police Department has established a distinct policy to address sexual harassment. Secondly, the Orlando Police Department’s sexual harassment policy contains various sections including definition, prohibited activity, employee responsibilities, complaint procedures, retaliation, and training. On the contrary, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s sexual harassment policy only provides principles that guide the conduct of police officers with regards to sexual harassment. Third, the sexual harassment policy by Orlando Police Department provides a comprehensive approach for dealing with sexual harassment policy within the police department. On the other hand, the sexual harassment policy by Florida Department of Law Enforcement focus on the actions of police officers within the department and while on duty. Unlike OPD’s sexual harassment policy, this policy also focuses on preventing sexual harassment of citizens by police officers.

Sexual Harassment of Women in Law Enforcement

The field of law enforcement has experienced a significant rise in the number of female employees over the past few decades. However, women in law enforcement experience unique workplace stressors that range from language harassment to sex discrimination. As shown in the findings of a recent national survey, sexual harassment is a common experience among women in law enforcement (Lonsway, Paynich & Hall, 2013). This is primarily because women face challenges relating to peer acceptance, which is regarded as one of the major issues within police organizations. Since the law enforcement field has been traditionally dominated by men, women face challenges relating to peer acceptance, which is a major contributing factor to sexual harassment. However, most female victims do not file formal complaints of their sexual harassment experiences because of retaliation, which is common and severe.

Issues faced by Transgenders

As noted earlier in this report, women are a primary group that face discrimination when it comes to law enforcement. This is true when they work for the department and it is also true when they are arrested, detained and jailed by the same. However, they are not the only group that is discriminated against and otherwise subject to maltreatment. Other minority groups face negative treatment as well and these would include racial minorities like Hispanics and African-Americans and sexuality-related minorities like gays and transgenders. The last of htose in particular is a sensitive one to deal with because they are in such a minority and they are often treated with such disdain and discrimination by the general public. Because this is the case and because such behavior is simply unacceptable when it comes to law enforcement and the discharging of their duties, it would be wise to consult the scholarly research and find out the issues that transgenders face when it comes to being contacted, detained, and arrested by law enforcement. First, even if gender reassignment is not in process or completed, there are still some general guidelines that would still remain true. However, in the theoretical scenario being presented for this assignment, the person in question is actually undergoing reassignment surgery and has been arrested. Thus, they must be classified and handled in the proper way.

One study of transgenders and jail occurred in the Los Angeles County jail system and there are two models that they quickly found out when it comes to transgenders, those being accidental humanity and hypermasculinity. Because the transgender community is so unique in their sexuality status and are considered vulnerable, the jail actually has a unit that is comprised only of gay men and transgendered women. The unit is free from any heterosexual men or women and it is also free of any gang members and other such inmates. Because of this unique classification, these particular units are free…