As one of his first actions as the new Chief of Police for the Knoxville Police Department, Chief Paul Noel submitted the department’s application to the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Project on Monday, June 13, 2022.  
 
“It is imperative that we create a culture of accountability and loyalty towards one another by intervening before mistakes or misconduct occur or when they do occur, and ABLE will help lay that foundation” Noel said. “Accountability will be the key word for our supervisors and command staff. Our officers must hold themselves and each other accountable and look out for their fellow officers. We owe that to one another and the residents we serve.” 
 
In order to register for the ABLE Project, the KPD was required to submit four letters of support – one from Chief Noel, one from Mayor Kincannon and two from community-based organizations vouching for the department’s sincere interest in self-improvement. The Knoxville Area Urban League and Knoxville NAACP provided support letters for KPD’s application. If accepted, KPD would commit to the 10 ABLE standards and kick-start its participation with an ABLE Train-The-Trainer Event.  
 
The ABLE Project was created by the Georgetown University Law Center for Innovations in Community Safety in partnership with Sheppard Mullin, a global law firm. ABLE is an offspring and expansion of the Ethical Policing Is Courageous (EPIC) Peer Intervention Program that was developed by the New Orleans Police Department and Dr. Ervin Staub, the founding director of the UMass Amherst Psychology of Peace and Violence Program, in 2014. Chief Noel helped develop and champion the EPIC Program while serving as a Deputy Superintendent at NOPD.  
 
The ABLE Project is a national hub for training, technical assistance and research that strives to create a police culture where officers intervene when necessary to prevent misconduct, avoid mistakes and promote officer health and wellness. ABLE does that by developing and delivering practical, scenario-based training for police peer intervention, and providing guidance on concrete measures that need to be in place to sustain a culture of peer intervention.  
 
According to the ABLE Project website, the benefits of the meaningful active bystander training that ABLE facilitates include reduced unnecessary harm to civilians and officers, improved police and community relations, improved citizen satisfaction with their law enforcement agency and more.  
 
“I saw firsthand the positive outcomes of ABLE training in my time in New Orleans, and I am confident our department will reap those same benefits,” Noel said. “By applying the principles taught through ABLE, we will have the tools and training to build a healthier, more accountable department.” 
 
To learn more about the ABLE Project, visit www.law.georgetown.edu/cics/able.