The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) was a U.S. federal agency within the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

. It administered federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies and funded educational programs, research, state planning agencies, and local crime initiatives as part of President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

's "war on crime" program.

History

The LEAA was established by the

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (, codified at ''et seq.'') was legislation passed by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson that established the Law Enforcement Assistance Admi ...

and was abolished in 1982. Its predecessor agency was the Office of Law Enforcement Assistance (1965–1968). Its successor agencies were the Office of Justice Assistance, Research, and Statistics (1982–1984) and the

Office of Justice Programs The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that focuses on crime prevention through research and development, assistance to state, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies, including law enf ...

. LEAA included the

National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the United States Department of Justice. NIJ, along with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenile ...

, which had its functions absorbed by the National Institute of Justice on December 27, 1979, with passage of the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979. The Act, which amended the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, also led to creation of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. LEAA included the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals.

Initiatives

In March 1973, the LEAA ordered any police department receiving federal funding to end minimum height requirements, which most women could not meet. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the LEAA promoted policing initiatives such as the STRESS ( Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets) in Detroit and CRASH (

Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums The Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) was a specialized unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tasked with combating gang-related crime between 1979 and 2000. The unit was established in the South Central district ...

) in Los Angeles.

History

Initiatives

References

Further reading