Participants in L.E.A.D.’s Community Prevention Officer (CPO) pilot program, including Deputy Brandon Depew, standing, right, discussed the outcomes of their community prevention initiatives during a panel presentation at the 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference on June 3 at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City. (Photo Courtesy L.E.A.D.)
ABILENE, Kansas — Deputy Brandon Depew of the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office is one of the nation’s first officers to complete the L.E.A.D. Community Prevention Officer (CPO) program, helping pioneer an evidence-based approach to drug and violence prevention while building a recidivism prevention initiative tailored to Dickinson County’s needs.
Deputy Depew was among 12 officers from eight states selected for the CPO program’s first class. Following months of virtual and in-depth training in prevention science, strategic planning, and evidence-based practices conducted in partnership with Applied Prevention Science International (APSI), each officer assessed local community needs, developed a prevention initiative designed to produce measurable outcomes, and presented the project during the L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence) National Training Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
L.E.A.D. created the CPO program to extend prevention efforts beyond the classroom by training officers to identify local risk factors, build partnerships throughout their communities, and implement prevention strategies that can be evaluated and refined over time. L.E.A.D. plans to expand the program nationwide as more officers become certified CPOs.
“Through the CPO program, we support officers working directly with the community to help them make their community safer,” said Nick Loizzi Jr., L.E.A.D. Vice President of Programs and CPO Coordinator.
Dr. Zili Sloboda, founder and president of APSI and a longtime member of L.E.A.D.’s board of directors, said the program introduces law enforcement to prevention science and helps officers develop community-based initiatives rooted in research rather than intuition.
“The role of the Community Prevention Officer is to expand this information to the community,” Dr. Sloboda said. “We’re hoping to have Community Prevention Officers get to know the community, recognize what’s going on and identify where the gaps are.”
For Deputy Depew, that meant addressing one of the greatest barriers facing people working to overcome substance use disorders — finding meaningful employment after involvement with the criminal justice system.
Drawing on the prevention science principles taught through the L.E.A.D. CPO program, Deputy Depew developed an initiative focused on reducing recidivism by connecting Recovery Court participants with second-chance employers while providing resume assistance, interview preparation, and other life-skills training to help participants build stable, productive futures.
“When we have individuals in the community that have drug- and alcohol-related charges, it’s hard for them to get jobs,” Deputy Depew said. “I wanted to look at how we could use the program to help those that may have a checkered past build a better future for themselves.”
L.E.A.D. Executive Director and CEO Nick DeMauro praised Deputy Depew for demonstrating how prevention science can address challenges that extend beyond the traditional classroom.
“Deputy Depew exemplifies exactly what the L.E.A.D. Community Prevention Officer program was created to accomplish,” DeMauro said. “His initiative demonstrates how law enforcement can apply prevention science to help individuals overcome barriers, strengthen families and build safer communities. We congratulate Deputy Depew and the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office for helping pioneer this important new program.”
To learn more about L.E.A.D.’s mission to keep young people safe from drugs and violence, visit LEADrugs.org. To support programs like the Community Prevention Officer program, visit LEADrugs.org/donate.
About L.E.A.D. — Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence
L.E.A.D. — Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence — is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Allentown, N.J., dedicated to equipping law enforcement agencies with the resources, training, and curriculum to deliver effective drug and violence prevention education in schools and communities. Since its founding in 2015, L.E.A.D. has partnered with agencies nationwide, supporting more than 7,000 trained instructors who have reached more than one million students in more than 2,500 school systems. L.E.A.D. delivers prevention on the street and in the classroom through its Community Prevention Officer initiative and the Botvin LifeSkills® Training curriculum, the gold standard in evidence-based prevention education. L.E.A.D. is funded through donations and grants that support the organization’s national program and infrastructure, sustaining this work across every community it serves. For more information, visit LEADrugs.org or call 609-259-2500.
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