Welcome to the Black Law Enforcement Association of Washington's web site. We are truly humbled to be apart of a profession where as individuals, we affect change daily in the lives of others in our respective communities. Since BLEAW's inception in 1975, we have strived to be the conscience of the criminal justice system, as it relates to the African American community and we continue to hold to that mission today. Although the initial struggles that BLEAW encountered were mainly those of combatting racial and discriminatory practices that were perpetrated upon towards our members by their respective departments; I am proud to say that we no longer are fighting those battles. However, we are still vigilante in ensuring that those harmful practices of the past are not resurfacing.

As an organization, we provide a venue for our members to recieve career development training by way of conferences and the ability to network with other criminal justice practitioners who have the same goals as us. BLEAW is a member of the western region of the National Black Police Association and is listed as the official Seattle chapter. On the local level, BLEAW strives to collaborate with other social service agencies to work with the youth in our communities by being positive role models and mentors.

This organization is only successful as our members allow it to be. We are always looking for new people to join us and to help further the mission of the organization. BLEAW membership is open to any individual who is employed by a governmental criminal justice agency either as a sworn officer or as a civilian support staff member. Please feel free to contact me for additional information regarding membership. I can be contacted at: bleawpres@hotmail.com

Carlos W. Bratcher, President