|
April 4, 2026 New PERF report on the Law Enforcement and Society program, which uses the Holocaust to teach officers about the weight of their responsibilities
PERF members, In 1998, Washington, D.C.’s new police chief, Chuck Ramsey, toured the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). As he moved through the museum, a photo of a German police officer prompted him to consider the role of law enforcement during the Holocaust and the lessons that period of history might hold for contemporary police officers. Working with the USHMM and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Chief Ramsey created a training program that uses photographs of law enforcement during the Holocaust to begin a conversation with police officers and recruits about the role of law enforcement in a democratic society. Today PERF is releasing a brief report on that program, Law Enforcement and Society. What began in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department has expanded to include many other agencies within driving distance of the USHMM, as well as those that can travel to local Holocaust museums across the country. To further expand their reach, the USHMM has recently developed a new program, Defining Moments in Policing, for agencies that are not be able to visit a Holocaust museum. For this piece, PERF spoke with Chief Ramsey, police officials, and course instructors, then observed a day of training at the USHMM. We also interviewed Captain Jillian Jeffers with the U.S. Capitol Police, which trains its officers at the USHMM. “It’s valuable training,” Captain Jeffers told PERF. “It’s looking through the lens of something that, as we get further away from it, we’re not immersed in it. We were probably taught it in school, then when you stand in the Holocaust Memorial and see people’s spoons and luggage and shoes, it brings it home.” The Tampa Police Department trains its officers at the Florida Holocaust Museum. “I went through that program [in 2013] and was very impacted by it,” Chief Lee Bercaw said. “It’s amazing to hear the stories and see it firsthand. . . . At the Florida Holocaust Museum, they have one of the train cars. They’re telling you the story of the train car and you’re sitting there seeing it. It becomes so real that you can actually visually put yourself there.” I strongly encourage any agency near a Holocaust museum to consider implementing the LEAS program, if you are not already doing so. For those not close to a museum, reach out to USHMM to learn more about their new Defining Moments in Policing program. Thanks to PERF staff members James McGinty and Dustin Waters for authoring this excellent publication, part of a series of brief “Forum at the Forum” reports we will be releasing periodically. Dustin also took the captivating photos of the museum. Our society entrusts police officers with a tremendous amount of responsibility, and historical lessons can provide them with context for that responsibility. The LEAS program reminds me of Hannah Arendt’s observation about “the banality of evil”—that the Holocaust was carried out by those who felt they were merely following orders. Police today are unlikely to face such profound moral issues, but exploring these questions can make them better officers. “Through history we learn,” Chief Ramsey told PERF. “We can learn from the Holocaust and help police understand that their role is about more than just enforcing laws.” Best, Chuck |