Oakland County Sheriff’s Department

One of the organizations that organize and sponsor these trainings is the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). JINSA is a think tank that advocates for US-Israeli security cooperation, increased domestic military spending, and military aid to Israel, and has board members with close ties to US defense contractors. JINSA launched its Law Enforcement Exchange Program (LEEP) shortly after 9/11, and since 2002 has run annual trips to Israel for US federal, state, and local law enforcement. Over 11,000 additional American law enforcement officials have attended LEEP conferences nationwide, which bring in Israeli security officials as experts.

The Sheriff’s Department of Oakland County, Michigan, is among the departments that have sent delegates to Israel. Michael Bouchard has served as Sheriff of Oakland County since 1999. Sheriff Bouchard attended a training in Israel with JINSA as a delegate of the LEEP program in 2008.

Bouchard was a candidate for Michigans 2010 Gubernatorial Race. He was re-elected Sheriff in 2012 by an overwhelming majority of voters. In addition, he serves as an Executive Officer of the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), where he holds the position of Vice President of Government Affairs. He also heads the Executive Board of the Intelligence Commanders Working Group within the MCSA.