Donovan J Leighton

Articles by: Donovan J Leighton

Operation Ceasefire: The right balance of sticks and carrots, focused on violent offenders

18th June 2021

Donovan J Leighton, former FBI agent

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former FBI agent Donovan J Leighton explores the problems associated with tackling gun violence, and the challenges and successes of Operation Ceasefire in balancing prevention and enforcement.

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Donovan J Leighton

Profile
Donovan Leighton is a 31-year veteran of the FBI with experience in general criminal, white collar crime, organized crime-drug, and counter-terrorism investigations as well as international operations. He was instrumental in forming the first FBI-LAPD gang task force to address South-Central Los Angeles gangs. He worked his way through the University of California-Berkeley as a civilian employee of the Berkeley Police Department and Oakland Police Department where he earned a BA in Criminology and a JD. He served for a year as a deputy district attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office before entering on duty as a special agent with the FBI. In retirement he is employed as a crime analyst with a major East Coast police department.