Elliot Broidy, Lenny Sands, and The Los Angeles Police Foundation
Many people are surprised to learn about the amount of local effort, both public and private, that goes into funding and maintaining local law enforcement services. This is especially true of the Los Angeles Police Department.
It was partly in reaction to this reality that Elliot Broidy and Lenny Sands recently steered the Los Angeles Police Foundation’s donation of the new command center to the LAPD.
Together, Mr. Broidy and Mr. Sands have worked side by side for years to keep the LAPD on the cutting edge of new crime solving technologies by structuring the Foundation in a way that ensures that funds are distributed in an efficient matter according to greatest need.
Many people are surprised to learn the extent to which the nation’s local law enforcement must rely upon local, not federal funds for the bulk of their operating budgets.
While small amounts of federal dollars do go to local law enforcement agencies, most rely upon cities they serve for financial support. Many cities maintain substantial foundations that specifically serve this purpose.
The LA Police Foundation makes available funds to pay for essential equipment, training and other programs not covered by the city budget.
The funding structure that allocates grants is very important because it allows individual officers and departments to request funds directly to meet their specific needs.
This means that police personnel, who are well versed and well-experienced with priorities and demands of their own law enforcement challenges and local crime fighting demands, can make crucial decisions about how to equip their departments, as opposed to well-meaning government workers, who are removed from such activity, and who generally make allocations from the top down.
The LAPF also operates many local initiatives and programs designed to serve people of all ages, genders, and races.
Such programs range from providing recreational and other equipment to youth in support of extracurricular and vacation time activities, to programs that provide training to high-school students and young adults interested in law enforcement.
The LAP Foundation has funded a large number of conferences that address topics such as the promotion of more effective interaction with families of crime victims, in addition to conferences on gang violence, leadership training, and EMT combat training, to cite just a few cases.
In the past Foundation Officers have traveled to London to study anti-terrorist tactics from their counterparts in British law enforcement.
Lastly, the Foundation grants annual scholarships to young people who hope to become police officers.
A brief look at the headings of the long lists of projects already funded by the Police Foundation is enough to suggest the significance of this foundation.
The most common grants are made in support of officer safety, counter terrorism, staff morale and wellness, the purchase of new technology and equipment, the improvement of traffic safety, and to crime prevention.
People are often surprised realize the how much training is required and how specialized are the requirements of local law enforcement agencies. In support of these worthy and essential causes, the Los Angeles Police Foundation has donated over $5 million to date.