Working with Law Enforcement in the Fight for a Safer America

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and its sister organization, The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence have worked closely with law enforcement for the past 25 years to reduce gun related injuries and deaths in America. The Brady Campaign was founded in 1974 as Handgun Control. Since 1983, the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence has worked closely with law enforcement to educate the general public about the issues surrounding gun violence in the United States. In 2001, Law Enforcement Relations staff was proud to announce a new beginning in the fight for a safer America with the introduction of our new names: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The LER staff continues its commitment to support law enforcement in its goal of protecting American communities from gun violence.

America's law enforcement knows the importance of common sense gun legislation that is designed to keep guns out of the wrong hands (violent criminals, felons and children) combined with laws that are strong and enforceable. The new Brady organizations agree that the laws that exist today should be enforced. Unfortunately because of the many loopholes in our laws, prosecutors are reluctant to take criminal cases into the courtroom, knowing they will never make it through the rigors of trial.

While The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence works diligently with local, state and federal lawmakers to strengthen existing laws, close loopholes and pass new common-sense legislation, The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Law Enforcement Relations (LER) Department works closely with law enforcement throughout the country, implementing programs to reduce gun violence in schools and communities. LER also develops gun violence reduction strategies designed to reduce the number of illegal guns on our streets.

Law enforcement has been critical to the success of the Brady Law: when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the federal government could not require local law enforcement to conduct background checks on handgun purchasers, the nation's law enforcement community joined together to forcefully urge every police agency to continue conducting voluntary background checks. As a result, a national survey of law enforcement found that 94.4% of all police departments continue to perform background checks today.

LER works with police agencies, criminal justice practitioners and individual law enforcement professionals nationwide to implement gun violence prevention programs. At the national, state and local levels, LER seeks law enforcement input on many issues related to gun interdiction, gun violence prevention and gun injury reduction. Some of the projects we are currently working on are highlighted here on our web site.

For information on how the Law Enforcement Relations staff can help your law enforcement organization in its battle against the epidemic of gun violence in your community, contact our offices at (202) 898-0792 or (202) 289-7319.