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| Abbreviation | LEAP  |
|---|---|
| Established | 2002 (23 years ago) |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Headquarters | Medford |
TheLaw Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerlyLaw Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-basednonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their expertise to advancedrug policy and criminal justice solutions that enhance public safety. The organization is modeled afterVietnam Veterans Against the War.[1]
The organization transitioned from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition into the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in January 2017.[2] They previously focused on ending thewar on drugs[3][4] and now discuss a broad range of issues relating to policing and criminal justice - fromprocedural justice practices to reducingrecidivism. Their overarching message is about reducing crime and violence and improving public safety, while the issues they discuss fall into five key areas: improving police-community relations, reducing and finding alternatives to incarceration, improving access toharm reduction services, ending the war on drugs and global issues.[5]
LEAP works to educate law enforcement, legislators, and the public about ways to bring about positive change in the criminal justice system. They speak to civic clubs, international conferences,[6] and have been featured in many top U.S. media outlets.[7][8][9][10][11]
LEAP believes the key to improving police effectiveness is to go back to the fundamental principals of modern policing[12] laid down byRobert Peel and improve public safety by increasing police-community trust.
Speakers advocate for solutions including treating officers for post-traumatic stress disorder; expanding police training and pay; addressing racial disparities in the justice system; abolishingstop-and-frisk practices; limitingpolice militarization to active shooter, hostage, and barricade incidents; endingcivil asset forfeiture; and abolishing volume-based performance measures such as arrest quotas.
LEAP advocates for alternatives to arrest and incarceration as a means of reducing crime. They support reducing the use ofmandatory minimum sentences, increasing the use of effective pre-booking diversion programs, increasing the use ofrestorative justice conferences, reforming the money-bail system, and reforming parole and probation systems. The group aims to reduce collateral consequences caused by arrest and incarceration, reduce racial disparities in sentencing and punishment, and reducefelony disenfranchisement.[13]
LEAP supportsharm reduction programs, which reduce the negative personal and societal consequences of drug use, includingSupervised Injection Facilities,Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD),heroin-assisted treatment,Medication Assisted Treatment,syringe exchange programs, expandednaloxone access, and treatment on demand. Until 2020 LEAP was the fiscal sponsor for the Influence Foundation, which operates the harm reduction publicationFilter.[14][15]
LEAP pushes to end thewar on drugs and legalize and regulate all drugs from a public health perspective as a means of reducing death, disease, andaddiction associated with drug use and illegal drug sales.[16]
LEAP is dedicated to studying international criminal justice issues and practical solutions. LEAP considers domestic and international drug policies and their disastrous consequences, including violent criminal organizations, widespread corruption, suppression of free press, immigration crises, and state-sanctioned killings of drug users and dealers. LEAP looks to countries including Switzerland andPortugal for pioneering innovative drug policies focused on public health and safety.
The Law Enforcement Action Partnership's executive board[17] is chaired by Lt. Diane Goldstein (Ret.) of the Redondo Beach Police Department in California. Board members include: Matt Simon, Director of Public and Government Relations; Commissioner Trevor Velinor; Chief Mike Butler (Ret.), Longmont, CO; Chief Brendan Cox, Albany, NY; Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.) of the Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments; Lt. Sarko Gergerian, Winthrop, MA; Fmr. Captain Michael Harvey, Virginia; Chief Tom Thompson (Ret.), Sinclair Community College Public Safety Department; Capt. Leigh Maddox (Ret.)Maryland State Police; Tom Schoolcraft, Minnesota; Ret. Deputy Superintendent Cheryl Morris; Professor Kendra McSweeney, Ohio; Detective Corinne Mason, New Jersey; and Det. Sergeant Neil Woods (Ret.) of Derbyshire, England.
Representatives of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership are trained to speak with audiences and media outlets on behalf of the organization. They include current and former/retired police officers, military police officers, judges,[18] prosecutors, prison wardens and other corrections officials, parole and probation officers, and FBI and DEA agents.[19]
Each year, speakers conduct hundreds of interviews with outlets across the country, including AP,Newsweek,[20]BBC,[21]The Washington Post,[22]FOX News,[23]CNN,[24]The Atlantic,[25]The Intercept,Reason magazine,[26]The Hill,[27]The Guardian,[28]The Washington Times,The Los Angeles Times,[29] and others. They are regularly featured in documentaries, viral social media content, and local radio and TV segments.
Representatives are regularly involved in speaking engagements in state legislatures and at press conferences, civic clubs, conferences and universities.
LEAP has received funding from tobacco companies.[30][31] In 2017 more than a third of its funding came fromReynolds American.[32]
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