The MPD is committed to fair, impartial, and constitutional policing and the Department has been training members on active bystandership and duty to intervene for years. ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) delivers practical, scenario-based training that prepares officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm and to create a law enforcement culture that supports peer intervention. Its aim is to create a police culture in which officers routinely intervene — and accept interventions — as necessary to prevent misconduct, avoid police mistakes, and promote officer health and wellness.
The MPD became a registered participating agency in ABLE in 2021, following an application process that included letters of support from government leaders, as well as organizations like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Anti-Defamation League. We were one of the earliest law enforcement agencies to adopt the ABLE framework and integrate the program’s curriculum and materials into our existing active bystandership training. By ensuring that officers are familiar with these concepts, our members develop the muscle memory necessary to act quickly in incidents where an intervention may be merited and reduce unnecessary use of force and loss of life.
MPD supports the ABLE Standards and is committed to an agency culture wherein officers feel empowered to intervene to prevent misconduct and reduce mistakes.
ABLE Standards
- In order to ensure ABLE is implemented effectively and meaningfully, a law enforcement agency wishing to train their officers in the ABLE curriculum, access support and resources, receive training or technical assistance, or use the registered trademarks must commit to these ABLE Standards:
- Community Accountability
- Training
- Implementation and Program Coordination
- Supporting Intervention in Policy and Practice
- Employee Wellness
- No New Intervention Reporting Requirements
- Data and Research
- Sustainability & Commitment
About ABLE
- Since its inception, the ABLE program has quickly expanded its reach, to include:
- 314 ABLE agencies
- 1,900+ instructors trained
- 41 US states represented
- 3 Canadian provinces represented
- 158,000+ officers at ABLE agencies
- 106 million+ community members served by ABLE agencies