LEADERSHIP MISSIONS
Washington D.C. 2006
Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust

The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott partnered with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum when local civic and law enforcement leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. on March 16, 2006. The delegation attended the Museum’s widely acclaimed community program; “Law Enforcement and Society: The Lessons of the Holocaust”. As part of a pilot program for the Museum, Greater Prescott was the first small community in the United States to have its law enforcement leaders experience this dynamic and interactive program that emphasizes ethical leadership in law enforcement.

The Foundation’s sponsorship made the Prescott-area delegates’ participation possible. Local officials traveling to the nation’s capital were: Mayor Rowle Simmons and Chief Randy Oaks, City of Prescott: Mayor Harvey Skoog and Chief Daniel Schatz, Town of Prescott Valley; Supervisor Carol Springer, Sheriff Steve Waugh, County Attorney Shelia Polk, and Superior Court Judge Robert Brutinel, all of Yavapai County. Local attorney Kenton Jones, Yavapai College president, Jim Horton, and business leaders Ron Fain and Tracey Horn rounded out the group of area delegates.

Chartered by a unanimous Act of Congress in 1980 and opened in 1993, the Holocaust Museum has developed a variety of community programs designed to enhance the understanding of the Holocaust and related issues, including those of contemporary significance. In 1999 the Museum, the Anti-Defamation League, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Judicial Center joined forces to develop a training program in ethical leadership for law enforcement personnel. The resulting program, “Law Enforcement and Society: The Lessons of the Holocaust”, examines the history of the Holocaust and encourages law enforcement officials to reflect upon their personal and professional responsibilities in a pluralistic democracy.

Because Prescott was representative of many rapidly growing and progressive small cities, the Museum hoped to obtain valuable insight and input from the Prescott area’s participants as to the relevance of the program to smaller communities. What the Museum got was a new idea of how to expand their program to teach ethical leadership to prosecutors! After participating in the program, Sheila Polk, working with the Foundation and the Holocaust Museum developed a program specifically for prosecutors. In August of 2007 that program was featured at the Summer Conference for Arizona’s County Prosecutors. The program was so successful it is currently being evaluated by the National College of Prosecutors as a standard by which continuing education in ethics is taught to prosecutors nation-wide.