Iowa Prisons Using ‘Implicit Bias’ Training to Address Racial Disparities

Iowa has faced ferocious criticism from progressive activists over the racial disparity in the state’s prison population. The state has adopted “implicit bias” training as a means of combating this issue.

According to a local news report, Iowa’s Department of Corrections recently started offering “implicit bias” training. Officers that work in the state’s prisons will be forced to undergo training to ensure that their subconscious biases do not affect their work.

“Implicit bias,” a term from social psychology, refers to the alleged biases that all humans have subconsciously. Researchers at various institutions around the country began studying “implicit bias” in the 1990s in the hopes that their work would help society better understand racism and other forms of discrimination.

Director of Iowa Department of Corrections Beth Skinner told the press that the “implicit bias” lessons were made mandatory for employees after a test group claimed that training was a positive experience.

“We’re always scanning the environment, scanning the literature, seeing what works and what our national partners are advising us on. So, we’re always very open to find out what are the best practices and then to implement those,” Skinner said in a brief comment. “Does it take resources? Yes. But the issue is that important that we’re willing to put those resources in there.”

Skinner went on to say she is working to ensure that all inmates at the several prisons throughout the state of Iowa are treated equally. Skinner is convinced that initiatives like “implicit bias” training will help the state reach its goal of reducing disparities in the treatment of racial minorities.

“I know that our staff are our most valuable asset here. They’re doing the work they’re passionate about a hand in addressing racial disparities,” Skinner added. “We’re passionate about making sure people don’t return and that communities are safer. We’re going to spend the next couple years really working hard to make sure people don’t return if people are successful and go back with success when they go back into their communities.”

Breitbart News reported this week that Harvard University was embracing the “implicit bias” test, a debunked online quiz that purports to determine whether or not an individual is racist.