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The National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA) is the only professional membership organization dedicated to the advancement of blacks as prosecutors. Founded in 1983, the Association's membership is comprised of over 800 prosecutors nationwide and in Canada . It includes both chief and line prosecutors from local, state and federal offices. In addition to prosecutors, the association's membership includes law students, former prosecutors, and law enforcement personnel.
NBPA is emerging as the international association of black law enforcement professionals with a reputation for providing education and leadership in the legal profession through its intensive training sessions and multi-disciplined networking.
The mission of the NBPA is reflected in the organization's commitment of the recruitment of blacks within the prosecutorial arm of the legal profession. It is to ensure not only retention of blacks in prosecution, but also to correct the dramatic inequity that exists with respect to black representation in the executive ranks of prosecutors' offices. A further goal is to recruit, train and mentor younger aspiring lawyers for leadership roles in the years ahead.
NBPA mission is realized through the following important goals:
- To serve as a catalyst for interdisciplinary communication, innovative training, professional development and camaraderie among blacks choosing careers in law enforcement.
- To provide intensive training, both academic and practical, accommodating the wide variety of specializations within the membership.
- To seek out and support young people interested in public service providing realistic exposure to the prosecutor's role as a vital member of the community.
- To create a pool of legal scholars to provide and conduct symposiums on topics that are contemporary, germane, and on the cutting edge of the legal profession.
- To create forums, both national and regional, which involve subjects that impact directly the needs and concerns of the black community.
- To develop an international information network relevant to the needs of black law enforcement personnel.
- To promote, strengthen and support the roles of blacks in all aspects of law enforcement.
NBPA has established a number of training programs in direct response to the needs of its membership.The annual convention serves as a comprehensive and intensive training session on innovative changes in the law, its application and consequences.
The regional symposiums provide up-to-the-minute information on explosive topics such as domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, civil rights violations, including hate crimes and police brutality, high-tech computer crime environmental issues, insurance fraud and urban, suburban and rural drug and gang wars
The regional school programs such as the High School Mentor Program in Los Angeles , California , Legal Lives: partnership for Respect of Esteem, the Adopt-a-School Program in Brooklyn , New York , and various other youth programs throughout the nation are either initiated or endorsed by NBPA members.
The purpose of these programs is to expose students to positive role models within the criminal justice system through law related education. These programs increase students' awareness of racial, cultural and religious diversity and broaden their knowledge of the criminal justice system and its relationship to the community. They further increase the students' awareness of the legal and social consequences of drug use.
The immediate goals of the NBPA are:
- To establish a technological presence
- To create a national database of all Black lawyers and law students
- To establish regular regional training programs
- To develop a youth crime prevention campaign
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