December 2007

Guest Editor Susan Braunstein

The 114th Annual IACP Conference featured education, networking, and an exposition providing the latest in law enforcement technology, equipment, and products. Among the business of the association conducted at the conference, the membership passed 30 resolutions and reaffirmed 4 older resolutions. Chief Edmund H. Mosca of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, was elected vice president at large. Ronald C. Ruecker, director of public safety for Sherwood, Oregon, was sworn in as IACP president on Wednesday, October 17, 2007. Cover photographs by David Hathcox.

Articles

• Identity Theft Victim Recovery Starts with Local Law Enforcement Agencies

  By Joanna Crane, Identity Theft Program Manager, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection; and Jennifer Leach, Consumer Education Specialist, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.
  Identity theft has become a story of numbers: millions of victims, billions of dollars lost. But to police officers, that story comes person by person. Each of those victims has a story to share; each...

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• Ballistic Body Armor: A Chief’s Refresher Course

  By Yousry A. Zakhary, General Chair, and Peter Carnes, North Atlantic Regional Chair, Division of State Associations of Chiefs of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Alexandria, Virginia
  Procurement of soft body armor is a relatively new responsibility for law enforcement organizations. It is very possible that many police executives have rarely dealt with the purchase of body armor. ...

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• Postal Inspectors: Not Secret, No Longer Silent

  By Inspector Douglas Bem, National Public Information Officer, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington, D.C.
  The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been called the “silent service” because, for most of the 20th century, this federal law enforcement and security agency did not seek publicity. However, for...

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• Adapting to Change in Law Enforcement Public Information

  By Susan Braunstein, Associate Professor of Communications, Barry University, Miami, Florida
  Few fields in the law enforcement profession are experiencing greater or more rapid change than public information; changes in mission, production, and delivery have begun, and continued change is ine...

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• Navigating the New Media Landscape

  By Ed Buice, Public Affairs Officer, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Washington, D.C.
  These are critical times for law enforcement public information officers (PIOs). They must keep aware of and respond to dramatic developments in the world of mass communication. Some shifts...

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• Managing the Message

  By Lynn Hightower, Communications Director, Boise Police Department, Boise, Idaho
  Imagine a scenario in which a police department’s chief, public information officer (PIO), or patrol officer gives an interview with a television reporter about a recent incident. The department is ...

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• Building a Successful Public Information Program

  By Edward M. Morley, Chief of Police; and Sergeant Martin J. Jacobson, Public Information Officer, Stuart Police Department, Stuart, Florida
  As the motto of the Boy Scouts of America advises, law enforcement agencies should always be prepared, whether for a critical incident or for interaction with the media. Even occasional media communic...

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• Planning and Managing Security for Major Special Events: Best Practices for Law Enforcement Administrators

  By Karl Bickel, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; and Ed Connors, President, Institute for Law and Justice, Alexandria, Virginia

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• Cold-Weather Training Issues

  By By Brian R. Johnson, Professor of Criminal Justice, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama; and Greg L. Warchol, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan

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