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Nassau County Executive
Thomas Suozzi and Howard Maier, Chairman of the Holocaust
Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, announce the
start of the new program for law enforcement officers at the
Holocaust Center
The program, “Law
Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust,” is a
proven and effective program created and run by the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the
Anti-Defamation League in the Washington area since 1999.
Mr. Suozzi stated, “Using the Holocaust as the prime
example of what can happen in a society where hatred and
racism is allowed to flourish, the program encourages law
enforcement officers to evaluate and examine their actions
and reactions to current situations. The program emphasizes
the important role law enforcement officers have in
society.”
Located in Glen Cove, the
Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County is
only the third Holocaust Museum in the nation provided the
opportunity of offering this training.
The program is run in conjunction with the
Anti-Defamation League
Nassau County Police
Commissioner James Lawrence and Nassau County Deputy County
Executive Timothy Driscoll accompanied the Holocaust
Center’s Chairman, Howard Maier and Education Director,
Dr. Regina White to Washington to witness first hand the
program being delivered to Fairfax, Va. police cadets. Mr.
Driscoll stated after seeing the program, “An important
part of the program is the interactive examination of the
vital and difficult role of police in American society
today.”
Commissioner Lawrence said
after he returned from Washington, “This program would be
important for the Nassau County police force because it
brings to the forefront how important the ethics of the
police are, that a small ethical violation can erode the
confidence in the police.
This training shows what happened when this occurred
during the Holocaust and what can happen today.
It drives home these lessons.”
Deputy Chief Karen
O’Callaghan, who is head of the Nassau County Police
Academy, attended the 31/2 day training for the program with
the members of the Holocaust Center staff. She
stated, “This would be a program for our police recruits
as well as our regular force.
It would be important to have them exposed to the
abuse of power under the Nazis and the role of the police
within our Constitution.”
The launch of this
critical program began this spring with the Nassau County
Police Department cadets.
It will be offered to law enforcement agencies across
Long Island. The
Holocaust Center’s Chairman, Howard Maier stated, “We
are proud to be on the forefront to providing these agencies
with this important program.
Each individual can make a decision that their badge
stands for justice and the protection of rights for any
person they encounter…this program has been proven to make
that happen and foster a motto of thoughtful consideration
and respect for all people regardless of race, ethnicity or
religious affiliation.”
Over 27,000 law
enforcement agents including the FBI have taken part in this
program in Washington since 1999. “We have a tremendous
undertaking in front of us.
We hope to find corporate leaders in the community
who will join our efforts by underwriting and sponsoring the
programs as we begin to roll it out”, said Howard Maier.
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