A division of the Department of Justice has released an instructional video for police officers across the country on how to interact with individuals who identify as transgendered. The video, which runs nearly 13 minutes, focuses on teaching cops the approved terminology with those they believe are transgendered citizens. Among the tips the video recommends for cops on the beat is asking whether a citizen prefers to be called “ma’am” or “sir.”
“When in doubt, it’s always best to ask what their preference is,” says the video’s narrator. “Just simply ask, ‘How would you like to be addressed?'”
The narrator, who identifies himself as a police officer, delivers an overview of the terms “assigned sex” (the physiological sex at birth), sexual orientation, and “gender identity.” Some people, he says, identify at “many points along the spectrum” between “stereotypical masculine male” and “stereotypical feminine female.”
As a DOJ press release outlines, the video is a product of the Community Relations Service, a division of the department that “supervises conflict resolution specialists” in regional offices across the country.
According to a DOJ spokesman, the agency created the video with support from the National Center for Transgender Equality and PFLAG National, two LGBT advocacy groups. While viewing of the video by police officers is not mandatory, the DOJ recommends all cops see the video “as a stand-alone training tool to be viewed by law enforcement officers and officials during roll call” and as “an informational briefing for oncoming officers before they begin their patrol shift.”
The DOJ declined to comment on how much the production of the video cost taxpayers.
