Colorado State Patrol invests in intervention training

NEWS RELEASE 
COLORADO STATE PATROL
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The Colorado State Patrol is proud to announce a partnership with the Georgetown University Law Center for Innovations in Community Safety (CICS) to implement the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) project. The Colorado State Patrol began training sworn members on May 23, 2023, and will have 100% of sworn members trained by the end of September 2023. 

Professionals in law enforcement are frequently faced with high-stress, high-stakes decisions as a part of their daily responsibilities. The ABLE Project factors in these job conditions to prepare officers to intervene to prevent misconduct, avoid police mistakes and promote officer health and wellness by teaching officers how to successfully intervene while promoting those who do intervene. It also authorizes and empowers law enforcement to intervene in another officer’s action regardless of his/her rank. 

“We are very excited to be partnering with ABLE to expand our training on active bystandership,” stated Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Through this program we prioritize our commitment, dedicating an internal resource to coordinating this program and adhering to outside standards. These are all wins for our community members, troopers, and port of entry officers.”

Training can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful intervention by an active bystander. The ABLE Program was built for sworn officers with tactics and strategies of active bystandership including scenario-based role play and the creation of a department culture that supports intervention. 

All sworn staff at the Colorado State Patrol, including top leadership and recruits, will be required to complete the ABLE training and will receive annual refresher training from this point forward.

The ABLE Project builds upon training developed by Dr. Ervin Staub, the Founding Director of the UMass Amherst Psychology of Peace and Violence Program, to help police officers stop unnecessary harmful behavior of fellow officers. For more information on the ABLE Project, visit https://www.law.georgetown.edu/cics/able.

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