The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their expertise to advance

drug policy A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances (commonly referred to as drugs), particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemen ...

and criminal justice solutions that enhance public safety. The organization is modeled after

Vietnam Veterans Against the War Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) is an American tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation founded in 1967 to oppose the United States policy and participation in the Vietnam War. VVAW says it is a national veterans' organization ...

. As of April 2017, they have more than 180 representatives around the world who speak on behalf of over 5,000 law enforcement members and 100,000 supporters. The organization transitioned from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition into the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in January 2017. They previously focused on ending the

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

and now discuss a broad range of issues relating to policing and criminal justice - from

procedural justice Procedural justice is the idea of fairness in the processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources. One aspect of procedural justice is related to discussions of the administration of justice and legal proceedings. This sense of procedura ...

practices to reducing

recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

. 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 to

harm reduction Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Harm reduction is used to de ...

services, ending the War on Drugs and global issues.

Goals

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, and have been featured in many top U.S. media outlets.

5 Key Issue Areas

Police-Community Relations

LEAP believes the key to improving police effectiveness is to go back to the fundamental principals of modern policing laid down by

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

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; abolishing

stop-and-frisk Frisking (also called a patdown or pat down) is a search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs their hands along the outer garments of another to detect any concealed weapons or objects. U.S. Law In the United States, a law enforce ...

practices; limiting

police militarization The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

to active shooter, hostage, and barricade incidents; ending

civil asset forfeiture Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit *Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a member ...

; and abolishing volume-based performance measures such as arrest quotas.

Incarceration

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership advocates for alternatives to arrest and incarceration as a means of reducing crime. They support reducing the use of

mandatory minimum sentences Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...

, increasing the use of effective pre-booking diversion programs, increasing the use of restorative 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 reduce

felony disenfranchisement Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...

Harm Reduction

LEAP supports

programs, which reduce the negative personal and societal consequences of drug use, including

Supervised Injection Facilities Supervised injection sites (SIS) are medically supervised facilities designed to provide a hygienic environment in which people are able to consume illicit recreational drugs intravenously and prevent deaths due to drug overdoses. The legality o ...

, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD),

heroin-assisted treatment Heroin-assisted treatment (HAT), or diamorphine assisted treatment, refers to a type of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) where semi-synthetic heroin is prescribed to opiate addicts who do not benefit from, or cannot tolerate, treatment wit ...

, Medication Assisted Treatment, syringe exchange programs, expanded

naloxone Naloxone, sold under the brand names Narcan (4 mg) and Kloxxado (8 mg) among others, is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. It is commonly used to counter decreased breathing in opioid overdose. Effects begin within ...

access, and treatment on demand.

The War on Drugs

LEAP pushes to end the

and legalize and regulate all drugs from a public health perspective as a means of reducing death, disease, and

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

associated with drug use and illegal drug sales.

Global Issues

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership 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 and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

for pioneering innovative drug policies focused on public health and safety.

Membership

Board of Directors

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership's executive board is chaired by Lt. Diane Goldstein (Ret.) of the Redondo Beach Police Department in California. Board members include: Inge Fryklund, former Assistant State's Attorney in Chicago; Stephen Gutwillig, a professional nonprofit organizational development consultant; Jody David Armour, Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; executive director Maj. Neill Franklin (Ret.) of the Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments; Capt. Leigh Maddox (Ret.) of the Maryland State Police; Allison Watson, former Assistant District Attorney in Knoxville, Tennessee; and Det. Sergeant Neil Woods (Ret.) of Derbyshire, England.

Advisory board

The advisory board of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition consists of Romesh Bhattacharji, former drug czar (India); Vince Cain, former Chief Coroner of British Columbia and retired RCMP chief superintendent (Canada); Senator Larry Campbell, former mayor of Vancouver and retired RCMP officer (Canada); retired Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Crispin (Australia), Member of Parliament Libby Davies (Canada); Carel Edwards, former anti-drug coordinator for the European Union; U.S. District Court Judge Warren William Eginton;

Gustavo de Greiff Gustavo de Greiff Restrepo (b. June 20, 1929 – d. July 19, 2018) was a Colombian lawyer, educator and activist, who served as Attorney General of Colombia during the Gaviria presidency and later as Ambassador to Mexico during the Samper pre ...

, former Attorney General of Colombia;

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

, former Governor of New Mexico; Judge

John L. Kane Jr. John Lawrence Kane Jr. (born February 14, 1937) is an American attorney and jurist, currently serving as a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Education and career Born in Tucum ...

, United States District Court for the District of Colorado; Justice

Ketil Lund Ketil Lund (born 14 October 1939) is a Norwegian judge. He was born in Oslo as a son of barrister and director Bernt Bjelke Lund (1898–1956) and Irlin Sommerfelt (1902–1974). He is a paternal grandson of Jens Michael Lund. From 1963 to 1967 ...

, retired Supreme Court Justice from Norway; Sheriff Bill Masters, Colorado; Joseph McNamara, retired police chief of the San Jose Police Department;

Norm Stamper Norman Harvey Stamper (born 1944) is an American former chief of police, writer, law enforcement consultant, and advocate for criminal justice reform. Biography Stamper is known for his role as Chief of the Seattle Police Department (1994-2000) r ...

, retired police chief of the Seattle Police Department; Eric Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation;

Thomas P. Sullivan Thomas P. Sullivan was a prominent Illinois attorney known for his involvement in notable constitutional cases, investigations, and contributions to public policy and law. He was a partner at the Jenner & Block law firm. He died May 18, 2021, at ...

, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois;

Robert W. Sweet Robert Workman Sweet (October 15, 1922 – March 24, 2019) was an American jurist and United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Education and career Sweet ...

, Senior Judge of the US District Court Southern District of New York; Hans van Dujin, retired Dutch police union president (the Netherlands); Francis Wilkinson, former Chief Constable of the Gwent Police Force (United Kingdom); and Justice C. Ross (Ret.), former British Columbia Supreme Court judge (Canada).

Speakers bureau

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, prosecutors, prison wardens and other corrections officials, parole and probation officers, and FBI and DEA agents.

Activities

Media

Each year, speakers conduct hundreds of interviews with outlets across the country, including AP, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'',

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'',

FOX News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...

'', ''Reason magazine'', The Hill, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', ''The Los Angeles Times'', and others. They are regularly featured in documentaries, viral social media content, and local radio and TV segments.

Events

Representatives are regularly involved in speaking engagements in state legislatures and at press conferences, civic clubs, conferences and universities.

References

External links

*
LEAP's Promotional VideoDocumentary film"Proposed Amendment of United Nations Drug Treaties -- 2014"2014 Letter To World Leaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Law Enforcement Against Prohibition 2002 establishments in Massachusetts Cannabis law reform organizations based in the United States Drug policy organizations based in the United States Drug policy reform Law enforcement non-governmental organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts Organizations established in 2002 2002 in cannabis 501(c)(3) organizations

Goals

5 Key Issue Areas

Police-Community Relations

Incarceration

Harm Reduction

The War on Drugs

Global Issues

Membership

Board of Directors

Advisory board

Speakers bureau

Activities

Media

Events

See also

References

External links