The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office (LSO) has been accepted into the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Project™, Georgetown University Law Center’s national training and support initiative for U.S. law enforcement agencies committed to building a culture of peer intervention that prevents harm.
By demonstrating a firm commitment to transformational reform with support from local community groups and elected leaders, LSO joins a select group of more than 180 other law enforcement agencies and statewide and regional training academies from across the country and in Canada.
Backed by prominent civil rights and law enforcement leaders, the evidence-based, field-tested ABLE Project was developed by Georgetown Law’s Innovative Policing Program in collaboration with global law firm Sheppard Mullin LLP to provide practical active bystandership strategies and tactics to law enforcement officers to prevent misconduct, reduce mistakes, and promote health and wellness.
ABLE gives officers the tools they need to overcome the innate and powerful inhibitors all individuals face when called upon to intervene in actions taken by their peers.
Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said seeking inclusion to join the ABLE Project reflected important priorities for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. “When Chief Deputy Ben Houchin presented the concept to me and the command staff, after learning about the program at a leadership training session, we agreed the ABLE Project would provide strategies for our deputies that would help reduce mistakes, prevent misconduct and promote officer wellness,” said Sheriff Wagner.
Those backing LSO’s application to join the program included the Asian Community and Cultural Center, The Lighthouse, and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, who wrote letters of support.