Panel at IACP challenges leaders to prioritize 'Never Again'
Each year, thousands of public safety workers converge at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference to network and attend panels focused on advancing professional leadership in contemporary policing. Last October, the conference unfolded in Denver, where one workshop stood apart: the UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice and Rutgers University Miller Center for Policing and Community Resilience convened for a panel that asked law enforcement leaders to grapple with the Holocaust.
The session, "Operationalizing Never Again: Lessons from History for Today's Policing," was moderated by Ben Haiman, executive director of the UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice. In his opening remarks, he cut straight to the heart of the matter as he asked attendees, “How do we ensure that the lessons of history translate into ethical police leadership?"
At the center of this discussion is the idea that public safety officials should come face-to-face with the role of police during the Holocaust. Haiman explained that this kind of engagement "challenges each participant to reflect on leadership, moral courage and the choices that shape professional integrity."
From History to Modern Leadership
Behind the panel lies an extraordinary educational experience: PSPS 5500: Contemporary Issues in Leadership - Policing in Nazi Germany, a unique graduate course offered through UVA's Master of Public Safety program.
Co-taught by Haiman and Dr. Stephen Levine, Associate Dean for Academic Programs at UVA’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, the three-credit course represents a partnership between UVA's Center for Public Safety and Justice and Rutgers's Miller Center of Policing and Community Resilience. Ultimately, the course asks public safety leaders to examine their own leadership through an unflinching lens.
Students explore how police transformed from protectors of public safety in the Weimar Republic to perpetrators of mass murder under the Nazi regime as they consult resources that illuminate "the psychological, sociological, and ideological reasons" behind such a devastating shift.
But the course doesn't stop at theory. The online curriculum culminates with a five-day experiential component in Krakow, Poland. Along with an expert guide, participants embark on an immersive exploration through historical sites of Jewish life, bear witness at Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau and join the International March of the Living. Combined with guided reflections and discussions, these experiences are designed to take students from understanding into conviction.
Bringing the Experience to IACP
At IACP, Haiman was joined by Dr. Levine, Paul Goldenberg (who co-founded the graduate course with Chief Karl Hereen from the Antwerp Belgium Police), and Chief L.A. Webb, a past participant whose perspective grounded the conversation in lived experience. The discussion revealed the program's transformative power. Dr. Levine emphasized the delicate academic work of helping officers understand that moral failures aren't only personal but institutional.
Chief Webb brought a participant's voice to the room as she shared leadership's critical role in setting a moral tone day-to-day and recalling powerful moments from Poland that underscored the power of silence and courage. For her, "it is a moral obligation to ensure that "Never Again" is not just a phrase, but a promise fulfilled in our policies, our communities, and our daily interactions."
The panelists wrestled with a crucial question: How do you prevent this from becoming a one-time emotional event and instead weave it into the fabric of ongoing professional development for American law enforcement?
The program exposed the depths of human cruelty—the organized, systemic effort to annihilate a people, a culture, a soul. But even more powerful was what it revealed about the enduring strength of human dignity. In the ashes of death, I saw the seeds of life.
--Chief Webb, Immediate Past President, International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
In his closing remarks, Haiman reframed the stakes, stressing that the core intent of the course "isn't about history; it's about vigilance, humility, and the courage to act when systems drift."
The panel's conclusion was clear: equip leaders with the tools to transform "Never Again" from a memorial phrase into a lived principle of professional policing throughout law enforcement training. As Chief Webb said, "This experience deepened my understanding of what it truly means to lead, to serve, and to stand guard over justice. It taught me that remembrance is not passive. It is not a date marked on a calendar or a moment of silence once a year. It is a living, breathing responsibility that demands our action, our vigilance, and our voice."