ILLINOIS LAW ENFORCEMENT EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Promoting Education In The Law Enforcement Community Of Illinois
The Illinois Law Enforcement Education Foundation (ILEEF) was founded in 2004 by a group of police officers and private business people who saw a gap in the training, research, and community information available to law enforcement personnel and the general public. This gap is caused by a lack of funding from national and state sources.
ILEEF depends on grants and support from companies and individuals to accomplish its mission.
A volunteer board of directors comprised of four law enforcement personnel and three community members oversee ILEEF.
The ILEEF mission is
“…to provide education and training for law enforcement personnel; research of issues important to both law enforcement and the community; and to educate and inform the public about important law enforcement issues and the impact of those issues on the public.” ILEEF’s purpose is not to compete with established training centers and organizations, but to complement them, and when feasible, form partnerships to meet common goals.
Education In Training
ILEEF promotes, encourages and fosters education in the law enforcement community of Illinois. This includes all municipal, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. ILEEF funding allows police officers to participate in training and educational seminars.
Past programs include:
- Car Trap Awareness: Concealed Compartments Training
- Meth Labs: Identify/Dismantle
- Suicide Assessment and Intervention for First Responders Training
- Critical Incident Stress Management
- Police Response to Mental Illness Training
- Traumas of Law Enforcement: Disabled officers, death of an officer, suicide
- Street Crimes
- Online Child Pornography Awareness Training
- De-escalating Juvenile Aggression Training
- Leadership Development
Research
ILEEF is responsible for the solicitation and receipt of grants, gifts, donations and contributions to support the ILEEF mission. Research on important topics of interest to law enforcement personnel is also part of that mission. One research project examined the impact of generational differences in policing.
Community Awareness
ILEEF develops public education and awareness programs for the community. One of the most popular ILEEF funded community events is Cops N Bobbers, an event that pairs police officers with at-risk youth for a day of fishing and fun. Annually nearly 100 children are provided with fishing skills as an alternative way to spend time and are encouraged to not get involved in drugs or violence.
Other community events have included digital fingerprinting, “Don’t Drink and Drive” public service announcements, Seat Belt Usage, Child Safety Seats and Crime Prevention.
Nearly 100% of donations go directly into ILEEF programs. ILEEF staff and office space are provided by in-kind donations.
Funding is used to provide training to police officers throughout the state, create public service announcements and further community and law enforcement partnerships.