The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) was a U.S. federal agency within the United States Department of Justice.
It administered federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies and funded educational programs, research, state planning agencies, and local crime initiatives as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "war on crime" program.
The LEAA was criticized for various reasons, including mismanagement of funds, concerns about exacerbating police militarization, and not effectively reducing crime.
In response to these criticisms and changing political and fiscal priorities, the LEAA was phased out and eventually abolished by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act Amendments of 1981 [citation needed].
In March 1973, the LEAA ordered any police department receiving federal funding to end minimum height requirements, which most women could not meet.