The Law Enforcement Torch Run? for Special Olympics

One of our recently appointed associates at the London Policing College, Jeremy Adams has been involved with the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) for Special Olympics since 1996.

Jeremy is a retired Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer and is the current Co Director of the PSNI LETR committee and one of the founders of the committee, as well as being a board member and volunteer at Special Olympics Ulster. The Law Enforcement Torch Run? (LETR) for Special Olympics is the Special Olympics movement's largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle in the world.?

The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in 1981 when Wichita, Kansas (USA) Police Chief Richard LaMunyon saw an urgent need to raise funds for and increase awareness of Special Olympics. The LETR was quickly endorsed by Special Olympics, Inc. and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), now recognised as the Founding Law Enforcement Organisation of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.

?Over the past 40 years, the Law Enforcement Torch Run has evolved from a symbolic awareness run to a very significant, annual fundraising and awareness raising effortconducted by the Worldwide law enforcement community through a multitude of special events, these LETR raises funds enable more Special Olympics athletes to benefit in many areas of their lives through sports training and competition.

More than 97,000 law enforcement members in over 46 worldwide countries (including several European Countries) contribute to LETR efforts annually as Guardians of the Flame?, ensuring the delivery of the Special Olympics Flame of Hope? to the Opening Ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions, national/regional and world Games.

Being involved in LETR affords an opportunity to actively participate with Special Olympics a non-sensitive charity and improve the lives of people with an intellectual disability in addition to contributing towards delivering Policing with the Community strategies and enjoy positive engagement across a wide and diverse community spectrum.

Jeremy during his previous role as European Coordinator on the LETR International Executive Council introduced police services from across Europe to LETR and these include Iceland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Switzerland. In his own programme in Northern Ireland, they are in a unique position that both Police Services on the Island of Ireland, Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána jointly work together through LETR to support Special Olympics Ireland, which is an All Island organisation supporting over 11,000 people with an intellectual disability.

Jeremy was entered into the International Hall of Fame in 2013 and has many great memories from his 28 years involvement with LETR and Special Olympics including being involved in the planning of the Final Leg Torch Run for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2003, when the games were held for the first time outside of the USA and held on the Island of Ireland. Over 144 police officers from across the world travelled to Ireland to take part in a 2 week torch run across the Island and carried the Flame of Hope into the Opening Ceremony in Dublin in front of 80,000 people. Jeremy has special memories of being involved in the first Torch Run in Israel and ran with local police officers and athletes from Israel and Palestine through the street of Jerusalem.

Jeremy is currently assisting with the planning of the annual Polar Plunge event in December, which will see police officers in unform run into the sea with other participants including Special Olympics athletes to raise awareness of LETR and funds for Special Olympics.

Jeremy is the former Hate Crime lead for the PSNI and is now involved in community development work specialising on equality, diversity and inclusion issues and recently graduated with a Community Development degree from the University of Ulster.

For more information about the LETR movement or Special Olympics, please contact Jeremy at [email protected]

?if you have a policing or training background and would like to work alongside Jeremy either is West London or on one of our international projects then please send an email to?[email protected]?one of our executive team will be delighted to have a conversation with you.