Get Involved. District of Columbia Police Department. Active Bystander for Law Enforcement Training

This week, Mayor Bowser observed the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Active Bystander for Law Enforcement (ABLE) training that is required for all MPD sworn members. For years, MPD has trained members on the requirement and duty to intervene. In 2021, as part of its annual professional development training, MPD formally adopted this new national best practice training program that prepares officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm and to create a law enforcement culture that supports peer intervention.

The Georgetown Law Innovative Policing Program, partnering with global law firm Sheppard Mullin, created the ABLE training, which employs evidence-based practices to give officers the tools and skills they need to perform an intervention on a fellow officer, a subordinate, or even a superior officer. ABLE is unique and uses lessons from other industries like aviation, medicine, and college campuses.

Learn more about the program HERE, and watch the demonstration HERE.