Published by: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Published in May 2015.

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In 2015, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing released their report, which offers best practices for law enforcement. The Task Force recommended that law enforcement agencies partner with legal aid agencies to increase trust and keep communities safe.

One of the Task Force’s suggestions was to partner with legal aid. This action item follows: “5.3.3 Action Item: The U.S. Department of Justice should support and encourage cross-discipline leadership training. This can be within the criminal justice system but also across governments, nonprofits, and the private sector, including social services, legal aid, businesses, community corrections, education, the courts, mental health organizations, civic and religious organizations, and others. When people come together from different disciplines and backgrounds, there is a cross-fertilization of ideas that often leads to better solutions. Furthermore, by interacting with a more diverse group of professionals, police can establish a valuable network of contacts whose knowledge and skills differ from but complement their own. This opportunity does exist for front-line staff on a variety of specialized topics but also needs to happen at decision/policy maker levels. For example, the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children is an especially appropriate model for the value of cross-discipline training. Their written testimony to the task force explains how their training approach focuses on the formation of community partnerships that engage law enforcement and professionals from multiple disciplines to collaboratively identify and protect drug endangered children and their families.” (p. 55)

Categories: Legal Aid Practitioners, National, Policymakers and Funders, Reentry