Volunteer Appreciation Week — Honoring our Speakers
April 13, 2018
In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership recognizes the hard work of our hundreds of law enforcement representatives in the U.S. and around the globe who volunteer their time in order to make our communities better, safer places to live.
As a nonpartisan organization, LEAP stands for all justice-minded people by focusing on a few key values we all share:
Everyone wants and deserves to live in a neighborhood free of crime and violence. Each of us, no matter where we come from or what our political affiliations might be, want to trust that the justice system is working effectively, efficiently, and with everyone’s well-being in mind. LEAP speakers advance those values every day by donating their time and focus to the most serious public safety issues impacting our communities.
Every day, LEAP speakers engage with audiences, interview with media, testify in legislatures, and write opinion pieces for local and national news outlets, serving as the law enforcement voice of reform. In 2018 alone, they’ve educated Arizona, Florida, and Maryland legislatures about the benefits of harm reduction programs; participated in multi-lateral efforts to end the money bail system in Georgia and California; and advanced smart sentencing and corrections policy in Louisiana and Kansas. They’ve taken a stand against civil asset forfeiture in Alabama and Michigan, and discussed the impact of law enforcement shootings on police-community relations across the country.
More than 20 new speakers — including current and retired police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, and corrections administrators — have joined LEAP this year alone. Today and every day, we extend our deepest gratitude to nearly 200 U.S.-based speakers and 45 speakers living in the U.K., Brazil, India, Germany, and elsewhere.
LEAP speakers are smart people in positions of authority who stand up for what’s right, even when nobody is paying them to do it and it’s so much easier to say nothing at all. They are the heroes we need to make our justice system work more effectively and humanely for all members of our communities.
Advancing justice and safety,
The Law Enforcement Action Partnership Team
