The Portland Police Department recently came under attack for conducting a 3-day diversity training for its leadership with a well-known and highly respected diversity consulting firm, White Men as Full Diversity Partners. This company focuses on helping white men, in particular, understand their role in creating inclusive environments.
The criticism largely stemmed from the cost of the training—$56,000 for a three day retreat that was apparently held at a posh golf resort at Mt. Hood called The Resort at the Mountain.
The Mayor, Charlie Hales, who was a part of the training defended the expenditure. He said that the Portland community is becoming more diverse and the police force, which is primarily white males, needs to better understand the communities they serve.
One news account questioned how much time was actually spent in training versus on the golf course. Others said that they did not object to the training but as public servants they should have chosen a less expensive venue.
A local paper, The Willamette Week, highlighted the fact that there was some golfing in between classes as if this too, was inappropriate. The report included the schedule:
- 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Class
- 12:30-1:30 -Lunch
- 1:30-4:00- Class
- 4:00-6:00- Free time
- 6:00-7:00 -Dinner
- 7:00-9:30 pm-Class
This sounds like a pretty robust training schedule to me and free time is always good for purpose of rejuvenation. Diversity training, in particular, can be intense. I am not a golfer, but I don’t think you can play a round of golf in two hours. Maybe I am wrong. School me.
My questions:
- Would this event even have been newsworthy if it was not diversity training?
- Is $56,000, which included the lodging and the training, a high price tag compared to other training, say leadership development, that the Police Department might conduct?
- Does the Police Department conduct return on investment (ROI) studies to determine the cost savings if a potential disastrous situation that stems from lack of cultural understanding is avoided? I speculate that $56,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of quelling racial tension, the cost of incarcerations, complaints from citizens, etc.
Public servants are always under scrutiny about how they spend tax payer’s dollars and maybe it was a mistake to go to a high priced resort, but I again just wonder if there would be such an outcry if it the subject matter were different. I don’t know if $56,000 is too much unless the questions above are answered.
