For many, the horrors of the Holocaust serve as a permanent example of the need for societies to protect all of their members.
With this in mind, the Division of Public Safety's staff has recently been attending training sessions hosted by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
The day-long program is entitled "Law Enforcement and Society" and has been developed in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League.
According to the museum's Web site, the program aims to train law enforcement officials in "balancing the rights of individuals with the protection of society as a whole."
Participants in the program, which has recently been made a mandatory requirement for employees of the FBI, learn about the history of the Holocaust and focus particularly on the role of the police in Nazi Europe.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said that after becoming aware of the program last year, she quickly realized its value for DPS staff.
"This program is a great way of summing up a lot of the training we've already done internally," Rush said.
Aside from being a hugely moving experience in itself, Rush described how the program serves as a valuable reminder of the capacity of power to corrupt.
She added that it was the extent to which Jews became dehumanized under Nazism that she found most shocking personally.
"No matter how horrific a crime someone commits, we must make sure that we still consider and treat the perpetrator as a human," she said.
Although the training is free, van rental, gas and overtime payment for staff attending the program have made it a considerable part of DPS' budget.
"It is a sizeable investment for us," said Rush, "but we believe it is very well worth it."
She added that DPS plans to make attending the program compulsory for all new DPS and PennComm recruits.
DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella, who recently participated in the program, described how participants are issued a personal identification card of a Holocaust victim and carry it with them throughout the day.
Later on, workshops and discussion groups are held in which program attendees discuss how their experiences throughout the day can be applied to the day-to-day job of law enforcement.
Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey, who has also attended the program, said for him, the day reinforced the importance of the police's role as protectors of the weak.
"You come into our profession because you want to help people," he said. "The tragedy of the Holocaust serves as a constant reminder of what can happen when people forget that and when the police don't stand up for everyone."
Since the program started in 1999, more than 32,000 police professionals and 7,000 FBI agents have participated.
