New Hampshire law enforcement officers trained in peer-to-peer intervention - WMUR Manchester

Program gives officers tools to intervene with fellow officers

CONCORD, N.H. —

Law enforcement officers in New Hampshire are being trained on how to intervene with each other if they see something inappropriate.

The training effort is part of a national program designed to prepare officers to intervene to prevent harm and create a culture that supports peer intervention.

"It's the first program that really emphasizes peer-to-peer accountability," said Eddie Edwards, assistant commissioner of the Department of Safety.

The program is named ABLE, which stands for Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement. The goal is to provide officers with the tools they need to intervene with a fellow officer if they see something wrong.

"This program has improvements for making sure that we have that accountability built in peer-to-peer, and there's nothing wrong with increasing that and encouraging that activity," Edwards said.

Edwards said the program is not something that is one-and-done.

"This is going to be an ongoing event, because we're going to train our troopers, our fire marshals, as well as marine patrol," Edwards said.

Eleven troopers from across the state have completed the training. Overseeing the program is state police Capt. Brendan Davey, who said this is about giving troopers the skillset to intervene.

"The ways that we do that can be as subtle as, 'Hey, sir, let me help you with that,' or it could be some other and more direct approach," Davey said. "It could be holding someone back. It could be pulling someone off."

While the program is geared toward the interaction between officers or troopers, Davey said he believes there will be a spillover in terms of how law enforcement is perceived by the public.

"To know that we are pursuing a set of actual utilizable skills to make sure that on my worst day, I don't do harm with the authority I wield," Davey said. "I would hope that would be valuable to the public."

The training for state troopers is expected to begin toward the end of the year, and the goal is to have every trooper trained within a year.

source: https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-law-enforcement-officers-trained-in-peer-to-peer-intervention/39411451

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