Law Enforcement Action Partnership
The Law Enforcement Action Partnership, formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their expertise to advance drug policy and criminal justice solutions that enhance public safety. The organization is modeled after Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
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 and now discuss a broad range of issues relating to policing and criminal justice - from procedural justice practices to reducing recidivism. 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 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 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 practices; limiting police militarization to active shooter, hostage, and barricade incidents; ending civil asset forfeiture; and abolishing volume-based performance measures such as arrest quotas.
Incarceration
LEAP advocates for alternatives to arrest and incarceration as a means of reducing crime. They support reducing the use of mandatory minimum sentences, 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.Harm reduction
LEAP supports harm reduction programs, which reduce the negative personal and societal consequences of drug use, including Supervised Injection Facilities, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, heroin-assisted treatment, Medication Assisted Treatment, syringe exchange programs, expanded naloxone access, and treatment on demand. Until 2020 LEAP was the fiscal sponsor for the Influence Foundation, which operates the harm reduction publication Filter.The war on drugs
LEAP pushes to end the war on drugs and legalize and regulate all drugs from a public health perspective as a means of reducing death, disease, and addiction associated with drug use and illegal drug sales.Global issues
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 and Portugal 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 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, Longmont, CO; Chief Brendan Cox, Albany, NY; Maj. Neill Franklin of the Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments; Lt. Sarko Gergerian, Winthrop, MA; Fmr. Captain Michael Harvey, Virginia; Chief Tom Thompson , Sinclair Community College Public Safety Department; Capt. Leigh MaddoxMaryland State Police; Tom Schoolcraft, Minnesota; Ret. Deputy Superintendent Cheryl Morris; Professor Kendra McSweeney, Ohio; Detective Corinne Mason, New Jersey; and Det. Sergeant Neil Woods of Derbyshire, England.