On Thursday, August 15, 2024, the White Settlement Police Department completed all program requirements and received formal ABLE Agency Certification. This culminates a year and half goal to comply with all program and training requirements to receive this coveted designation. ABLE stands for Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement and assists officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm and create a law enforcement environment that supports peer intervention.
“I want to thank the team at the Caruth Police Institute and Texas ABLE Center of Excellence at the UNT-Dallas campus for assisting our team with the training and onboarding,” said Christopher Cook, Chief of Police. “We will continue to be intentional on formal training and adopting industry best practices to uphold the public’s trust and create safer communities.”
The department received agency acceptance into the program on March 9, 2023 with the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. To fully comply with all training requirements, the department completed all mandated training over the past 18 months by sending officers to training sessions across DFW. The final sign off on training occurred on August 15, 2024.
Some of the program requirements include:
- Sworn officers must receive training in the mandated ABLE curriculum.
- Commitment from White Settlement City Manager Jeffrey James on supporting the program and requirements.
- Commitment from the Chief of Police to stay in compliance with all program standards.
- Community support letter from First Baptist Church of White Settlement.
- Community support letter from Watermark Church of Fort Worth.
- Other policy commitments to reinforce the commitment to intervention techniques.
To learn more about the program standards and requirements, click here: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/cics/able/program-standards/
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